Young Chinese javelin thrower Yan Ziyi clears 70 metres again at Asian Games

Young Chinese javelin thrower Yan Ziyi set a new Asian Games record, throwing beyond 70 metres with her very first attempt in the final. She significantly improved on the tournament record of 66.09 metres, held since 2018 by her compatriot Liu Shiying.

"I was planning to settle it within my first two throws. I didn't expect to pull it off on the very first attempt," Yan Ziyi told AFP. The sensation of this year's athletics season had already stunned everyone back in May: at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, China, she produced the second-longest throw in history — 71.74 metres — also on her first attempt, coming within 54 centimetres of the world record set by two-time Olympic champion Barbora Špotáková in 2008. Having gone on to win the overall Diamond League title and take silver at the new season-ending championship in Budapest, Yan Ziyi delivered another huge throw at the Asian Games.

The sprint king of the Games was 20-year-old Thai runner Puripol Boonson, who won the 200 metres in a new Asian record of 19.88 seconds. He had earlier taken the 100 metres in a Games record of 9.90 seconds. He had already shown good form back in August at the Grand Prix in Litomyšl, Czechia, where he won the 100 metres in 9.99 seconds.

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Source: sport.cz