By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-10 09:29

The Beijing Games will be China's best chance to win their first marathon gold medal in history, but the actual Olympic lineup is still surrounded by uncertainty.

The authorities had promised to announce the Olympic berths after the Xiamen International Marathon on Sunday, but decided to hold the names in order to "keep all runners motivated about the Games".

China features a group of powerful women's marathon runners with the potential to win a medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. The group includes (clockwise from top) London Marathon-winner Zhou Chunxiu, 2002 Seoul Marathon- and two-time Beijing International Marathon-winner Wei Yanan, 2008 Xiamen International Marathon-runner-up Bai Xue, former world half-marathon-champion Sun Yingjie, world junior record-holder and 2008 Xiamen marathon-winner Zhang Yingying, and 2007 Xiamen marathon-winner Zhu Xiaolin. [Xinhua]

"No matter who you are - superstar or newcomer - nobody is a sure bet for the Beijing Games," said Wang Dawei, vice-director of Chinese Track and Field Administrative Center.

Against all odds, Chinese women's runners hit historic heights last year as Zhou Chunxiu claimed the London Marathon title with 2 hours, 20min, 38sec - the best finish for any runner all year - before seizing a silver medal at the World Championships in Japan, where her teammate Zhu Xiaolin finished fourth with a personal best result.

Adding to the surprises was 18-year-old Zhang Yingying, who ran a world junior best in Xiamen at 2:22:38 to claim the title.

Officials had said Zhou and Zhu already secured berths after their sparkling shows at the Worlds and that the winner of the Xiamen marathon would get the last ticket as long as she ran under 2 hours, 24min.

But Wang seemed to have second thoughts after the Xiamen race, saying nothing had been decided yet.

"Even Zhou might be dropped at the last second," Wang said. "Now we have several candidates to watch and Zhou and Zhu are just candidates at this point.

"The final lineup will be decided by the State General Administration of Sport, not only our track and field officials. Also, I don't want our overseas rivals to get to know our Olympic athletes too early so I don't think authorities will announce it very soon."

Besides the trio of Zhou, Zhu and Zhang, the Chinese team also features a number of potential runners, such as Bai Xue, who came in second in Xiamen, and former Beijing International Marathon-winner Wei Yanan.

During the post-race press conference, Wei said the association has privately named a 10-member women's marathon candidate list for the Beijing Games, but it does not include Zhang or Bai, who have only just established themselves on the international stage.

Women's marathon is widely seen as the country's new path to gold at the home Olympics. Local media predict it will likely be China's only chance for track and field gold besides the men's 110m hurdles, which features national hero Liu Xiang.

Its emergence has delighted the whole nation given the fact that China has struggled for years to win golds in what people call "basic" sports - swimming, canoeing and athletics.

The high expectations bring marathon a lot of hype, but Wang tries to keep his feet on the ground.

"Our goal at the Beijing Games is to win a medal, not a gold medal," he said. "You cannot take it for granted that we have the London marathon champion so we will win a gold medal at the Olympics. All of our rivals are making the best preparation they can. To win a gold, you've got to beat Paula Radcliffe, Japanese girls and also those African athletes, so I won't try to predict."

Sun begins comeback

The country's fast-improving marathoners, however, were not the only storylines at the Xiamen marathon.

Controversial three-time Beijing Marathon winner Sun Yingjie, who returned from a two-year doping ban, has her sights set on making the Olympics - but in 5,000m or 10,000m events.

The 29-year-old former world 10,000m bronze medalist, who tested positive for the banned steroid androsterone at China's National Games in 2005, finished the Xiamen Marathon, her first event since ending her suspension, in 12th place with a time of 2:38:21.

Her 12th-place finish all but ends her Olympic hopes in her favorite event. But the runner now has her sights set on shorter distances.

"Realistically, I might not qualify for the marathon event in the Beijing Games, but I will strive for the berths in 5,000m or 10,000m races," she told Titan Sports. "Competing in the Olympics at home is the dream of all athletes so I will do my best to grab my chances even though they are very small."

Despite Sun's disappointing finish in her debut from a two-year hiatus, her comeback still stirred a frenzy amid media and fans since there wasn't a single Chinese in the 5,000m or 10,000m at last year's world championships.

Sun may be determined, but she still has a mountain to climb.

Her coach, Tao Shaoming, says Sun's 5,000m result is around 17 minutes, significantly slower than other top runners whose results are all inside 15 minutes.

"I'm not sure (I'll be able to qualify). Now I need to come back gradually," Sun said. "If I can return to my best, I think I can take part in the Olympics.

"I was really excited about taking part in this race because I had been away from a competitive atmosphere for such a long time."

After watching Sun's performance in Xiamen, Chinese track and field officials are confident about her Olympic chances.

"She used to be a great athlete so I think if she fails in marathon, she still has chances in 5,000m and 10,000m," Wang said. "As the governing body of the sport in China, we hope Sun can make some breakthroughs in the 200 or so days leading up to the Games."

Sun won the most recent of her three consecutive Beijing marathon titles on October 16, 2005 and the next day finished second in the 10,000m at the National Games in Nanjing.

One of her fellow athletes subsequently admitted to spiking Sun's drink to help her out.

Although a local court cleared her of doping, the Chinese Olympic Committee handed her a two-year ban while her coach, Wang Dexian, was banned for life.

Sun's former teammate and China's reigning 10,000m Olympic champion Xing Huina, also coached by Wang, will fly to the US to get training under the famed China-born coach James Li (better known as Li Li in China), the USA Track and Field Coach of the Year, in a bid to get back on track from a knee injury.