Beijing: Boosted by his recent half
marathon victory in the national team testing event, Chinese runner Duo Bujie
vows to maintain this momentum and fight for a top-eight finish in the marathon
race at the Tokyo Olympics next summer.
The 26-year-old Duo clocked one hour, five minutes, and eight seconds to win a half marathon testing event held by the Chinese national team in southwest China's Linzhi last week. Given that the race was staged on a course with an average altitude of more than 2,200 meters, Duo was satisfied with his recent form, reports Xinhua news agency.
"I spend several months every year training with high-level African runners in Ethiopia since 2013, which really helps me to progress," he said. "During my overseas training, I could keep with the pace of most of the sub-2:10 runners. That is where my confidence comes from."
Duo's marathon debut dates back to March, 2016 when he clocked 2:13:16 to book his berth for the Rio Olympic Games. Although he only achieved a lackluster 2:24:22 time in Rio.
Duo improved his personal best time to 2:10:31 last March, when he won the 2019 Xuzhou Marathon and met the entry standard for the Tokyo Olympics. IANS
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