Jumping for joy

It has been over a decade in the making, forged by sweat and pain, but Wu Ruiting can now proudly call himself an Asian record-holder.

Representing his native Guangdong province, veteran triple jumper Wu drew international attention to the Chinese National Championships on Monday after, on his fourth attempt in the final, he sailed 17.68 meters to win his third national title and break the 16-year-old men's Asian record by nine centimeters.

After building an early lead with a strong 17.41m effort in the second round before fouling in the third, Wu executed a near-flawless jump on his next try to secure his win, while rewriting the former continental mark of 17.59m set by his retired compatriot Li Yanxi at the 2009 Chinese National Games.

Wu's leap on Monday, had it been achieved a year earlier, would've placed him third on the Olympic podium in Paris.

His new Asian record distance now ranks third on this season's world list, trailing only Italian jumper Andy Diaz Hernandez's two indoor results in March — a 17.80m leap to claim the World Indoor Championships title in Nanjing, and 17.71m to win the European indoor title in the Netherlands.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist Zhu Yaming of Liaoning province secured second place with a season-best 17.37m, while Ma Yinglong of Shandong province finished third at 16.77m.

Both Wu and Zhu have met the 17.22m qualification benchmark for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which will be held in September in Tokyo.

Reflecting on his surprising feat, achieved after enduring a long injury break, the 29-year-old couldn't hold back his emotions.

"I have been aiming for the Asian record for more than 10 years. Today, I finally achieved it," said an emotional Wu, with tears in his eyes, during his post-final interview at the championships in Quzhou, Zhejiang province.

"If you truly understand the triple jump, you'll know how hard it is — from suffering injuries and changing my technique, to seeing my performance plunge and then fighting my way back.

"I was almost ready to give up. The encouragement from my training partners with the provincial team, and the support of my coach and team officials, helped carry me to where I stand today."

Gifted with athleticism from birth, Wu began junior training in 2007 at the municipal sports school in his home town of Dongguan, and soon made his presence felt on the national stage by winning the 2015 indoor national title at 19 years old.