Yichang athletes and coach set to make history in Paris
2024-07-16 20:07:58
Translator and Editor: Tan Maolin
Journalist: Shi Gang
The Chinese sports delegation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris was established in Beijing on July 13. There are 13 athletes from Hubei Province in the delegation, including Sun Jiajun and Xiong Shiqi from Yichang. Additionally, Qin Cong, a rifle shooting coach from Yichang, will be joining the delegation.
Sun, 23, entered the Yichang City Sports School for swimming training in 2006. He was selected for the Hubei swim team in 2013 and made the national team in 2018. In recent years, he has achieved excellent results in both national and international swimming competitions. In 2021, he became the first swimmer from Yichang to participate in Olympic swimming events and reached the semi-finals of the 100m butterfly in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Paris will be his second Olympic appearance where he intends to compete in four events: men's 100m breaststroke, men's 100m butterfly, mixed 4x100m medley relay, and men's 4x100m medley relay.
Athlete Xiong Shiqi
Journalist: Shi Gang
The Chinese sports delegation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris was established in Beijing on July 13. There are 13 athletes from Hubei Province in the delegation, including Sun Jiajun and Xiong Shiqi from Yichang. Additionally, Qin Cong, a rifle shooting coach from Yichang, will be joining the delegation.
Athlete Sun Jiajun
Sun, 23, entered the Yichang City Sports School for swimming training in 2006. He was selected for the Hubei swim team in 2013 and made the national team in 2018. In recent years, he has achieved excellent results in both national and international swimming competitions. In 2021, he became the first swimmer from Yichang to participate in Olympic swimming events and reached the semi-finals of the 100m butterfly in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Paris will be his second Olympic appearance where he intends to compete in four events: men's 100m breaststroke, men's 100m butterfly, mixed 4x100m medley relay, and men's 4x100m medley relay.
Athlete Xiong ShiqiXiong, 20, entered the Yichang City Sports School in 2016 as a sprinting and long jump athlete. She joined the provincial team in 2017 with the long jump as her main event. At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, she won the gold medal in the women's long jump, winning Yichang's first ever Asian Games gold medal in track and field. In Paris, she will compete in the women's long jump event. This will be her first Olympic appearance and also mark the first time for a Hubei athlete to participate in Olympic jumping events.
Qin, 32, began shooting training at the Yidu City Sports School in 2004. He joined the Yichang City Sports School shooting team in 2007 and the Hubei Province shooting team in 2009. In 2013, he won a silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle at the 12th National Games and was selected for the national shooting team that same year. In 2014, he won the men's 10m air rifle team gold medal at the 7th Asian Air Gun Championships and a silver medal in the individual event. This time, he will go for Olympics with the Chinese sports delegation, becoming the first rifle shooting coach from Yichang to participate in the Olympics.
Qin, 32, began shooting training at the Yidu City Sports School in 2004. He joined the Yichang City Sports School shooting team in 2007 and the Hubei Province shooting team in 2009. In 2013, he won a silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle at the 12th National Games and was selected for the national shooting team that same year. In 2014, he won the men's 10m air rifle team gold medal at the 7th Asian Air Gun Championships and a silver medal in the individual event. This time, he will go for Olympics with the Chinese sports delegation, becoming the first rifle shooting coach from Yichang to participate in the Olympics.
