Zhang Peimeng renews his quest to become the first Asian-born man to break 10 seconds for the 100 when he gets into the blocks at the Asian Games. Contending with a packed field, though, he may be lucky just to win the race.
Along with Qatar’s Nigerian-born Samuel Francis, who holds the Asian record at 9.99, Zhang faces Chinese teammate Su Bingtian, who has a personal best of 10.06, and Femi Ogunode, another Nigerian-born athlete who competes for Qatar and has a PB of 10.04. The heats start Saturday, the first day of the track and field competition at Incheon.
With teenage sensation Yoshihide Kiryu sidelined by a hamstring injury, Japan will be represented in the blue ribbon sprint by Kei Takase and Ryota Yamagata.
Since running a 10 flat at last year’s World Championships in Moscow, Zhang has repeatedly signaled his intention of setting a sub-10 milestone. A 10.08 at the Prefontaine Classic at Oregon in June was a sign this could be the 27-year-old Zhang’s year, although his subsequent times haven’t been nearly as quick.
In a news conference at Beijing’s airport on Wednesday, Zhang radiated confidence, even while conceding that he faces some formidable competition.
“Personally, I’m feeling in pretty good shape overall. At least I don’t have to worry about jet lag,” he said ahead of the short-haul flight to this coastal city west of South Korea’s capital of Seoul.
Gold medalist Chisato Fukushima will be on hand hoping to defend her title in the women’s 100. With a PB of 11.21 in the 100, Fukushima has a marginal edge over Kazakhstan’s Olga Safronova and China’s Wei Yojngli.
Olympic champion triple jumper Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan and Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim are also in Incheon aiming to defend their Asian Games titles as a prelude to the next year’s World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
For Rypakova, it will be just her third meet since returning to competition in August. She took 18 months off to have her second child after winning gold at the London Olympics. In addition to the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010 triple jump title, Rypakova also won gold in the heptathlon at the 2006 Asiad in Qatar.
Barshim, the Olympic bronze medalist and world championship silver medalist, went tantalizingly close to setting a world record when he attempted a height of 2.46 meters in Brussels earlier this month, but had to settle for an Asian record of 2.43. He’s likely to again challenge Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s record of 2.45, set in 1993.
Other athletes to watch include Olympic bronze medalist discus thrower Ehsan Hadadi of Iran, Tajikistani hammer thrower Dilshod Nazarov and Chinese 110-meter hurdler Xie Wenjun. Nazarov won gold at the last two Asian Games and is coming off an exceptionally strong year, with five of his career best eight throws coming in 2014.
With former Olympic hurdles champion and world-record holder Liu Xiang injured, Xie has emerged as one of China’s next big hopes on the track. Coached by Liu’s mentor, Sun Haiping, Xie surprised many with a win against a strong field at the May Diamond League meet in Shanghai.
