On April 21, on the shore of Fushan Bay in Shinan District, Qingdao, the number of finishers in the Qingdao Marathon Half Marathon category increased on the side of the track, where they could see the return of the runners up close.
After the sprint of the foreign competitors, everyone was greeted by the first Chinese face two minutes later. 2 hours 15 minutes 29 seconds (net) - Wang Jiahao enjoys his cheers.
This 23-year-old "grassroots god", who failed the physical examination in three battles and had no professional team registration experience when he was a teenager, spelled out the most valuable Chinese champion in his career.
Qingdao Marathon is an elite signature event of the World Athletics Federation, which includes high-level runners from many countries and regions. Before this game, Wang Jiahao had participated in 4 games after winter training, and the continuous consumption and high-level duel made him dare not have too much idea about the ranking of the competition.
"The main thing is to learn the experience of the competition, fight with everyone, and fight wherever you want. ”
Just a week before the Qingdao Marathon, he also participated in Yang Ling, and his words at that time were the same as before the Qingdao race. However, he did not get a satisfactory result in the race, 2 hours, 21 minutes and 55 seconds, fifth place.
"Fight for it" – that's what he often says, even against athletes who are clearly higher than him.
"I just want to compete with them every game, I'm still relatively young and have little game experience. Compete with high-level competitors to see what your problems are, where your training is lacking, and what you should pay attention to in the future. Constantly summarize through the game in order to make yourself better. Wang Jiahao said.
In an environment where professional athletes are more likely to maintain their rankings, not most people hold the same view as Wang Jiahao, because of the risk of "collapse" that "fighting" means. And "fighting" has also become Wang Jiahao's style, in the Qingdao Marathon, he fought to the end.
He did not specify a warm-up area for the start of Zone A, and after a brief preparation for the event, he entered the field with all the mass runners, and after the gun was fired, he clung to the first group.
Up to 30km, he was the only Chinese rider in the leading group. At the 30th kilometer, the foreign runners accelerated forward, and Wang Jiahao was afraid of the sun and ups and downs in the future, so he stabilized his rhythm and finished the race at about 215.
Heading into the final two kilometres, the physical exertion allowed him to get through the toughest phases, and the pace dropped by four points at one point when going uphill. If from the perspective of taking the ranking and bonuses, he can completely "put". Before crossing the line, Wang Jiahao fought with himself for another two kilometers.
"Physically and mentally are not in the most perfect state, today I really came with a learning mentality, but I didn't expect to get the most perfect results. In my current running career, it's a memorable race, a memorable track. Although I was a little bit short of PB, I did give it my all today and made it to the finish line. Every section of the road is run step by step, and with this process of hard work, the result will not be too bad. Wang Jiahao said to 98 after the game.
A month ago in Wuxi, it was a race that ran the results but not the rankings, and Wang Jiahao created a PB with 2:15:24. In Qingdao 2:15:29 (net), a race with a bumper ranking and results, after a heartbreak slope, he spelled out a smooth road to welcome before the finish line.
Wang Jiahao, from Weinan, Shaanxi Province, was born in 2000 and is entering the age of 24.
At the age of 16, with the support of his family, he entered the sports school with the idea of trying, and if he followed the normal development direction of the story - the sports school laid the foundation, he was favored by the provincial team coach than the provincial games, registered to the professional team, and stepped into the national arena on behalf of the provincial team, and further developed to a higher level.
It's just that in Wang Jiahao, things are not so smooth. When he was a teenager, he was quite successful in the district and county competitions, but he found that he was "not ranked first" in the provincial competitions, let alone to the extent of being noticed by the provincial team.
So he gave up the idea of taking professional sports, and instead hoped to get into the ideal university based on his sports results. Shaanxi Normal University, a double-first-class 211 university in his hometown, is his ideal university, but in the first year of the college entrance examination, he "didn't dare to think about it and didn't dare to apply" because he was worried that the admission score would be too high.
"I took the physical examination three times, and the first two times failed. Not being admitted the second time hit me hard, I was questioning whether I wasn't suitable for sports, and I didn't feel like I had any talent. I stopped training for a month, and I thought about whether to go in a different direction. ”
With the vigorous development of the marathon market, various clubs dominated by private capital have begun to emerge. Wang Jiahao joined the Zhengbao Running Club, which has salaries and bonuses in addition to training guarantees, but he is not satisfied with the status quo.
"I thought about it, after practicing sports for so many years, there must always be a good result, isn't it just to fight again, so I went to the college entrance examination for the third time. ”
This time, Wang Jiahao got his wish and received an admission letter from Shaanxi Normal University, which became a reality for the college he had loved for a long time but did not dare to apply for.
Almost at the same time, he started his first full marathon, and he started almost the whole whole marathon in Area B of the Hengshui Marathon and finished the race in 2 hours and 22 minutes, when he had not joined the club for a long time.
Academic, club, athletic performance...... The untalented sports student who fell off the list began to get everything on the right track.
"One is a social club, one is the support of a sports brand, the other is a university, plus there are a lot of competitions now.
This is a very complete system, and China's marathon is developing from a professional sports model to a diversified one. We, as athletes, are on this path, and we are all getting better and better. Wang Jiahao said.
The first time Wang Jiahao got a bonus through sports was when he was 17 years old, and more than 1,000 yuan could make him happy, which was enough for a sports school student to cover his expenses for a month.
At the Qingdao Marathon, he will receive the highest prize money since he practiced sports, from the 361° Track Dream Program.
According to 361°'s "Track Dream Program" released in September 2023, the brand offers incentive prizes to non-registered runners, who can also receive different amounts of prize money for running different sections.
361° looks forward to the diversified development of the marathon professional group in this way, providing them with an incentive and guarantee, and motivating the "grassroots gods" to have the courage to pursue their dreams.
"Thanks to the 361° brand, the Track Dream Program inspires athletes to dare to fight and think in competitions, so that athletes can have an ideal result, not only for me personally. Today's athletes are really happy, and all kinds of brands support everyone to impact their results. Wang Jiahao said.
"In my opinion, money is not a vulgar thing, for example, if you can't make money in a sport, you may have to choose other career development directions after practicing for many years, and it is difficult to stick to it purely by love, so that fewer people will participate. If the industry is not developed well, there will be less influx of young people, and it will only get worse and worse for our project. The rapid improvement of China's marathon results is inseparable, and I think it is inseparable from the strong support of the brand. ”
In addition, Wang Jiahao talked about the 361° Flying Burn 3 that helped him win the Chinese championship of the Qingdao Marathon, which he has been wearing in training.
"The Flying Flame 3 fits my foot shape perfectly, it's lightweight and wrappy, and the faster you run, the stronger the sense of propulsion. I wore it on the Flying Burn 2, and after upgrading the Flying Burn 3, the upper fit is better and the stable transition is better. I've also looked into the upgraded Dynamic Carbon Plate, which really makes a big difference in foot feel and performance. Wang Jiahao praised Feiran 3.
Now with the guarantee of the club and the encouragement of the 361° track dream plan, Wang Jiahao has strengthened his belief in leapfrogging to a higher level.
"There were too many backhills today, so save the PB for next time and I should have a 214 (laughs). ”
The 23-year-old knows that the 215 score is no longer at the forefront of the current fierce competition in the Chinese men's marathon, and he needs a score of at least 213 or even faster, and the 361° Track Dream Program inspires him to keep moving towards the next goal.
"Let's fight it, fight it with them. ”