Li Yanxi rewrites men's triple jump record

Li Yanxi of Hebei broke the oldest Chinese track and field national record as he rewrote the men's triple jump record.

The 25-year-old jumped a distance of 17.59 meters in the early rounds, shattering the national mark of 17.34 set by Zou Zhenxian at the 3rd Athletics World Cup in Rome in 1981.

The 2006 Asian Games champion in Doha also broke the Asian record of 17.35 set by Kazakhstan's Oleg Sakirkin in 1994.

Li was quite happy with the result, he said after the competition that this result is totally beyond his expectations. He felt nervous when he was waiting for the result after the jump. He thought he may break the record, but didn't think the distance he jumped was so long.

Zhu Shujing of Zhejiang claimed the silver with a distance of 17.41, also surpassing both records.