Gong Lijiao thumbs up after the women's shot put final at China's 2023 National Athletics Championships in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Lili)
China's Olympic champion Gong Lijiao is eyeing her third women's shot put world title in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
BUDAPEST, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic champion Gong Lijiao says she is going all out for her third women's shot put world title in the 2023 World Athletics Championships, which opens on August 19.
The 34-year-old failed to defend her title last year in Oregon as Chase Ealey threw 20.49 meters to secure gold for the United States, leaving Gong to settle for a silver with a throw of 20.39 meters.
"I want to take back what I lost last year," said Gong before coming to Budapest, adding that her goal is to surpass 20.50 meters.
Gong poses after the women's shot put competition at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, United States, July 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Gong is the most decorated athlete in the line-up, according to World Athletics. In 2017, she took her first world title in London on her sixth World Championships appearance, and retained the title two years later in Doha. She also delivered China's first Olympic gold in field events at Tokyo 2020 with a personal best of 20.58 meters, and has a total of 12 global medals to her name.
This year, Gong made the world's second-best mark of 20.06 meters after recovering from a tough time during the winter training session.
"My waist injuries had been bothering me. My daily life was affected, as well as training," said Gong. "Injuries and age are the greatest challenges to me. When I was young, I could come back to good form quickly after high-intensity training. But now, I have to answer the questions that my body poses me."
Gong's performances in the field, however, proved that she is still one of the favorites at the World Championships. She opened her season with a world-leading mark of 19.30 meters to take victory in the first leg of the Chinese Throws Meeting, and swept five more golds in the following domestic competitions.
Gong in action during the women's shot put final at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
In Budapest, she will face the U.S. duo Ealey and Maggie Ewen. Ealey tied with Gong in the season's best with 20.06 meters, while Ewen is the current world leader as she threw 20.45 meters in May. The trio will meet each other in the women's shot put qualifiers on August 26.
Despite the challenges, Gong says she has confidence in herself.
"After a period of adjustment, I'm in good condition right now," said Gong. "I haven't reached my limit yet. To throw over 21 meters is my ultimate dream, but maybe not this time, [at the 2024 Paris Olympics] perhaps," she added.
Gong will be joined by 40 teammates from China at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, where more than 2,100 athletes from over 200 teams will compete from August 19 to 27. ■
