The 9-second zone represents the world's top level of 100 meters. It was once a restricted area for Asians. In 1932, the first Chinese athlete to stand on the Olympics also participated in the men's 100-meter track and field. His name was Liu Changchun. , was eventually eliminated with a time of 11 seconds 1. It was not until 2015, 83 years later, that an Asian entered the 9-second zone. This Asian was Su Bingtian.

Such a breakthrough came from his first participation in the Olympics in 2012. Su Bingtian met his most powerful opponent, the world's number one flying man Bolt.

This competition made Su Bingtian aware of the gap between himself and the Olympic athletes, so he set a goal for himself. The first step was to pass the 10-second zone and enter the 9-second zone.

Su Bingtian: In 2014, I changed my starting foot to my left foot. If I changed it, the most basic things would be gone. It would be like learning to run again.

Su Bingtian insists on practicing starting hundreds of times every day. Even when walking, he still looks like practicing starting. Even when sleeping, he is thinking about how to run more perfectly.

In the semi-finals of the 2015 Beijing World Championships, Su Bingtian and Bolt stood on the 100-meter track again. This time Su Bingtian ran 9.99 seconds, while Bolt narrowly defeated the third place with 9.96 seconds. One, the difference between the two is only 0.03 seconds.

But that year, Su Bingtian had reached the age of retirement.

Su Bingtian: I feel that I have just begun to grasp some of the essence of the 100-meter race, and I still want to continue running.

9 seconds 987, 9 seconds 92, 9 seconds 91... As an older athlete, Su Bingtian has to work hundreds or thousands of times for any small breakthrough.

In 2021, Su Bingtian is preparing for the Tokyo Olympics at the age of 32. However, in the previous 2019, Su Bingtian was troubled by a waist injury and successively withdrew from important competitions such as the Asian Championships and the National Track and Field Championships.

Su Bingtian: I was really sad when I was injured. I almost lost my life. Really, I didn’t plan to make any breakthrough at that time. After all, the previous view was that as long as I reach this age, If you are still injured, it will still be difficult to get back to the top.