Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian makes history as the first Asian to enter men's 100m final in 89 years

Bryan Ke
·2 min read
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Many Asians applauded Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian for becoming the first Asian man to enter the Olympics men's 100-meter (328 feet) final in 89 years.

What happened: Su, 32, finished the semifinals with a score of 9.83 at the 2020 Tokyo Games on Sunday, setting a new Asian record and securing him a place in the grand finals, according to CGTN.


  • NBC’s Olympics Twitter account applauded Su’s performance during the semifinals.




  • Su competed against Ronnie Baker (U.S.), Marcell Jacobs (Italy), Akani Simbine (South Africa), Zharnel Hughes (Britain), Fred Kerley (U.S.), Enoch Adegoke (Nigeria) and Andre De Grasse (Canada) in the finals.

  • He ran for 9.98 seconds and finished sixth.

  • Su was seen covering himself with China’s national flag after the race, Global Times reported.

  • The last Asian person to ever reach the grand finals of the Olympics 100-meter (328 feet) race was Taka Yoshioka from Japan during the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Channel News Asia reported.


Positive reaction: Even though he did not win any medals, many people still extended their congratulations to Su, including former Chinese men's 110-meter (361 feet) Olympic gold medalist hurdler Liu Xiang.

  • Liu also called Su's 9.83 semifinal record “Godlike.”

  • “Seeing him win at this particular event made my blood flood into my head. At that moment, it didn't matter whether or not he is Chinese or I'm South Korean, because we are all part of the Asian community,” Jihoon, a South Korean sports fan, told Global Times on Monday. “Sports bond us together to prove we can! He did it for us, us Asians.”


Who is Su Bingtian: Born in Zhongshan, China on Aug. 29, 1989, Su attended Jinan University’s College of Economics in 2009, the university wrote in 2018.

  • Su graduated with a master’s degree in 2017 and was formally hired as an associate professor by JNU's School of Physical Education in April 2018. He also received the 22nd China Youth Five Four Medal in May 2018.

  • He broke the men’s 100-meter (328 feet) record and earned his first gold medal at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta on Aug. 26, 2018.


Featured Image via beIN SPORTS Asia

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