Xu Zizhou
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  China
| ||
| East Asian Games | ||
 |
2001 Osaka | 400 m |
| Asian Athletics Championships | ||
 |
2000 Jakarta | 400 m |
Xu Zizhou (Chinese: 徐自宙; born 8 January 1981) is a Chinese former track and field sprinter. His personal best of 45.25 seconds for the 400 metres is the Chinese record for the event. He was the 400 m bronze medallist at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2000 and secured a gold medal at the 2001 East Asian Games.
He broke Chinese youth and junior records for the 400 m and was highly successful at the start of his career, representing China at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics and winning the 400 m title at the 1998 World Youth Games. He was a five-time Chinese champion (four times over 400 m, once in 200 metres) and took a 200/400 m double at the National Games of China in 2001. Despite early success, he retired early in his career, ceasing to compete at age 24.
Career[edit]
Born in Hepu County, Guangxi, Xu began his career as a 400 metres specialist. At the age of sixteen he was runner-up in that event at the 8th National Games of China with a Chinese youth record of 46.01 seconds.[1] He won his first national title the following year at the 1998 Chinese Athletics Championships – the first of three consecutive Chinese titles. His debut global performance came at the 1998 World Youth Games, where he was the 400 m champion as well as the gold medallist in the 4×400 metres relay.[2] An appearance at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics came the next month, but there he failed to make the finals of either the 200 m or 400 m.[3] Xu also claimed the 400 m title at the 1999 Chinese City Games.[4] He was 200 metres runner-up at the 1999 Chinese Championships then claimed a 200/400 m double at the 2000 national event. He set Chinese junior records of 20.62 seconds for the 200 m and 45.55 seconds for the 400 m that year.[5] His first international medal came at the 2000 Asian Athletics Championships, where he took the 400 m bronze.[6]
Xu's best performances came in the 2001 season. A Chinese national record run of 45.25 seconds came at the 2001 East Asian Games, which brought him the gold medal and also a games record.[7] His was a 200/400 m double champion at the 9th Chinese Games, setting his personal best of 20.60 seconds in the 200 m final.[5] The 2001 Universiade was hosted in Beijing that year and Xu took fourth in the 200 m in the Chinese capital.[3]
His 2002 was less successful: he mainly focused on the 200 m and the highlights of his season were a runner-up finish at the national championships and a fifth place at the 2002 Asian Games in a season's best of 20.77 seconds.[5] He returned to his specialist event the following year and claimed his fourth 400 m national title at the Chinese Championships.[4] His performances began to diminish from that year on. He was third in the 200 m at the 2004 national championships, but did not make it to the semi-finals of the 400 m. In his final year of competition in 2005 he won the 200 m title at the Asian University Athletics Championships,[8] and was a semi-finalist in that event at the national championships. In his last major national event he helped Guangdong to the 4×400 m relay title, but did not go beyond the 200 m heats individually.[5] This marked the end of his athletic career.
References[edit]
- ^ 8th National Games medallists Archived December 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (in Chinese). jx918. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ World Youth Games. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ a b Zhizhou Xu. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ a b Chinese Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ a b c d Xu Zizhou[permanent dead link]. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ Asian Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ East Asian Games. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
- ^ Asian University Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-27.
