Tian Mengxu clinches 1st gold in athletics

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An up-and-coming long distance runner from the Henan delegation made a tenacious late charge to win the men's 10,000 meters at the National Games. Tian Mengxu clinched the first gold in the athletics events at the "willow leaf"-shaped Jinan Olympic Center on Wednesday.

Experts viewed Tian Mengxu as a dark horse in the lineup. Dong Jianguo of Yunnan and Ren Longyun of Qinghai claimed the spotlight and were declared favorites before the race.

Experts viewed Tian Mengxu as a dark horse in the lineup.

The 20-year-old from Henan was not among the leaders at the beginning. But Tian came from behind to overtake the tired front-runners, and he continued alone and unchallenged in the final 100 meters before crossing the line with a time of 28 minutes 15.06 seconds. Dong Jianguo of Yunnan followed in second place and Yang Dinghong of the PLA was third.