SINGAPORE – China’s Su Bingtian stunned the world when he qualified for the men’s 100m final on Sunday (Aug 1) after topping the semi-finals in an Asian record time of 9.83 seconds, rewriting his previous mark of 9.91sec.
The last Asian to appear in the final was Japan’s Taka Yoshioka, who finished last in the final in 1932 Los Angeles.
Liu Xiang was the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal on the track in the men’s 110m hurdles in Athens 2004.
Here are six things to know about Su:
1. Su was born on Aug 29, 1989, in Guzhen, a town in the periphery of the city of Zhongshan.
2. He became the first Asian-born sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the men’s 100m event when he clocked 9.99sec to finish third at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon six years ago.
3. The 31-year-old also holds the 60m continental indoor record of 6.42sec, which he set at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.
He finished second in the event, making him the first male Chinese sprinter to win an individual IAAF World Indoor Championships medal.
2. This is his third Olympics. He competed in the men’s 100m and 4x100m relay at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Games.
In London, he made it to the semi-finals of the 100m and participated in the first round of the 4x100m relay.
At the 2016 Rio Games, Su also qualified for the semi-finals.
He also took part in the 4x100m relay with teammates Tang Xingqiang, Xie Zhenye and Zhang Peimeng, with the quartet setting a then-Asian record in the event when they clocked 37.82sec to finish second in their heat.
The team eventually finished fourth, behind Jamaica, Japan and China.
4. In 2019, he was appointed to the Athletes’ Commission of World Athletics, making him the first Chinese track athlete to serve on the commission.
5. His other athletics accolades include a silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and three Asian Games gold medals.
6. In 2017, Su married his childhood sweetheart, Lin Yanfang, in their hometown.
