Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian challenges ‘gene theory’ on Olympic track
- Su Bingtian made history by entering the 100m men’s final, becoming first Chinese to do so
- Sports science theory prominent in China came under fire as Su progressed steadily in international competitions
Su Bingtian on Sunday did what no Chinese runner had done before, as he sprinted to secure a place in the 100m men’s final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Even though Su is going home without a medal, finishing sixth with 9.98 seconds in the final, he has no regrets.
“I fulfilled a wish of Chinese sprinters,” he said.
That wish did not exist until recently, nonetheless. For decades, a prevailing theory in China’s sports science attributed black sprinters’ speed to their genes.
One study conducted by Tsinghua University researchers in 2014 found that technology and scientific training could help, but only to a limited extent.
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China blown away by Su Bingtian, first Chinese runner to reach Olympic men’s 100m final
Though the top sprinters’ nationalities varied, they came mostly from Jamaica, and DNA analysis had traced their roots to a common ancestor in western Africa, according to the team led by professor Li Qing and colleagues with Tsinghua’s sports department, in their widely quoted paper published in the China Sport Science journal.