19/09/2020   Taian (CHN): Wang Kaihua wins China Autumn Walking Championships






 

 

 

 

First day of the Autumn Championships of China in Ta'ian in a splendid area with one of the symbolic mountains of Chinese culture, Mount Taishan, a pilgrimage destination for the Buddha who is venerated at 1,545m above sea level, for his monastery Taoist and for the splendid view at dawn of the sunrise between the rocks of the mountain.
 
 
 
20km men
 
The race started in the local afternoon (15:30) at 9:30 CET.
 
From the start, two athletes took the lead: Wang Kaihua (CHN) and young Zhang Jun (CHN) who led the race for the first 5km.
Split times at 5km:
- Wang Kaihua and Zhang Jun: 20:01
- Cai Zelin, Choi Toshihiro and Li Xiaobin: 20:47 followed closely by Chen Ding
 
Halfway through the race (10km) the situation is almost identical:
- Wang Kaihua and Zhang Jun: 40:03
- Cai Zelin and Choi Toshihiro: 41:04 followed closely by Chen Ding and Li Xiaobin
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
At 13km the main turning point of the race. Wang Kahua forces the pace and the young Zhang Jun loses about twenty meters, but tries to resist, perhaps committing a serious mistake.
 
At 15km always in the lead Wang Kaihua is already sure of victory, but he still has to deal with the recovery of Cai Zelin and Chen Ding who are having a wonderful race.
 
Victory for Wang Kaihua (CHN) in 1:20:49
Second place to Cai Zelin (CHN) in 1:22:03
Third place to Chen Ding (CHN) in 1:22:12
Fourth place to Li Xiaobin (CHN) in 1:22:56
Zhang Jun fails to stay below 1:23:00 and ends with a split in the last 5km above 23:00 in 1:23:12