xiamen readies for an epic showdown as national champion lizicheng takes the crown

At 7:30 AM Beijing time on January 6, 2019, the Xiamen Marathon kicked off. Gathering almost all the elite runners from across the country, Xiamen staged a grand opening event for the year. In the end, Ethiopia's Debela won the championship with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 26 seconds. In the most closely watched domestic elite competition,@Li Zichengwon the domestic men's championship with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 6 seconds.

The 2019 Xiamen Marathon had a total of 35,000 participants, making it one of the largest full marathon events in the country. The weather was favorable, with cool temperatures and occasional light rain, unlike last year's rain battle.

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Heroes gather in Xiamen for a high-stakes showdown! Top runners converge at the Xiamen Marathon.

This year's Xiamen Marathon was full of highlights,with many high-level domestic runners participating. From 2016 to 2018, more than 30 runners finished under 2 hours and 30 minutes, making for an unprecedentedly strong lineup.

On the international side: About 50 high-level runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, Japan, and other countries ranked in the top 20 of the IAAF and the top 100 in Asia participated.Domestically: Almost all top marathon runners in the country participated. Among the male runners, 32 finished under 2 hours and 30 minutes, including Dong Guojian, Yang Dinghong, Li Zicheng, Cheng Qianyu, Mou Zhenhua, and Li Chunhui. Among the female runners, He Yinli, Jiao Anjing, Li Dan, and Liu Qinghong also participated in this year's Xiamen Marathon.

Li Chunhui, who won the domestic men's championship in last year's rainy Xiamen Marathon, said before the race that he had prepared well and was confident in defending his title. This year, he aimed to challenge his personal best and break 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Veteran Dong Guojian participated in the Xiamen Marathon for the first time this year. Having set an impressive personal best of 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 41 seconds, he added more excitement to the race.

'Top runner outside the system' Li Zicheng rarely had the chance to compete with Dong Guojian. This year's battle between the two 'top runners' was particularly eye-catching.

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Race recap: Li Zicheng wins the battle of domestic top runners, while African runners stage a 100-meter showdown.

At 7:30 AM, the first gunshot signaled the start, and the elite runners surged forward. Among the domestic runners, Dong Guojian and Li Zicheng led the way.

In the first 3 kilometers after the start, Dong Guojian, Yang Dinghong, Li Zicheng, and Li Chunhui showed excellent competitive form, closely following the leading group of about 18 African runners.

At 8 kilometers, Dong Guojian and Li Zicheng continued to lead among the domestic runners, closely following the leading group, which had now become entirely composed of foreign runners. The 10-kilometer leader's time was 29 minutes and 58 seconds.

At 20 kilometers, the leading group consisted of 10 foreign runners, with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 2 seconds. Dong Guojian and Li Zicheng continued their battle, staying within one body length of each other. Dong Guojian appeared to be running very comfortably.

At 30 kilometers, the leading group was down to six runners, with a time of 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 35 seconds. The distance remained close, with Dong Guojian and Li Zicheng closely following, both attempting to accelerate but unable to shake off their competitors.

At 35 kilometers, after the refreshment station, Li Zicheng overtook Dong Guojian for the first time and took the lead. The battle for the 'top runner' title became increasingly intense.

Around 37 kilometers, Li Zicheng gradually expanded his lead over Dong Guojian.

At 40 kilometers, the official pacers withdrew from the race, and the leading group still hadn't broken away, leaving the championship outcome uncertain.

At 42 kilometers, the leading group of foreign runners finally began to push hard, culminating in a 400-meter sprint finish. Ethiopia's Dejene Gonfa won the championship with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 20 seconds.

Domestically, after 2 hours and 15 minutes of fierce competition, the results were finally clear. 'Top runner outside the system' Li Zicheng was the first to reach the finish line, winning the domestic men's championship!Winning among a group of top runners, Li Zicheng established his position as the top domestic runner.

Dong Guojian finished second domestically with a time of 2 hours and 17 minutes, and Yang Dinghong finished third domestically with a time of 2 hours and 19 minutes!

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Conclusion

Today, we finally witnessed a pure speed race. The Asian men's marathon record was broken three times in 2018, and Chinese runners have been striving to catch up. Li Zicheng's time of 2 hours and 15 minutes in this race also marked a great start for 2019. The collaboration between the 'top runners' inside and outside the system provided us with a spectacular event.

The number of events is rapidly increasing, and the level of amateur marathon running in our country is continuously improving. Today's 'domestic speed race' gave me hope for the future of marathons in China.We also hope that more milestone marathon figures will emerge domestically. Of course, more importantly, it's about a craftsman spirit and a grand goal of Chinese runners competing on higher tracks, which is the embodiment of the marathon spirit.

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