China's National Games sees title defense, breakthroughs in track and field

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Gong Lijiao claimed her fifth consecutive women's shot put title and Xi Xiaoheng broke the men's 800m national record as athletics competition continued at China's 15th National Games on Sunday.

Gong, 36, representing Hebei Province, threw 19.68 meters with her fifth attempt to secure the gold, with teammates Zhang Linru and Ma Yue taking silver and bronze after setting personal bests of 19.47m and 19.33m respectively.

Xi, representing Zhejiang, won the men's 800m in 1 minute and 45.48 seconds, shattering the national record.

"I didn't expect to break the national record, but I think I'm on the level to challenge it. I put a lot of effort in training, and I want to prove that I can make it," said Xi.

Wu Hongjiao from Yunnan won the women's 800m gold in 2 minutes and 5.23 seconds. Yu Shuiqing from Liaoning finished first in the men's 3,000m steeplechase final in 8 minutes and 40.15 seconds, while in the women's 3,000m steeplechase final, Luo Xia from Yunnan won in 9 minutes and 26.44 seconds.

Elsewhere, Li Jialun from Heilongjiang took the first place in the men's high jump with a personal best of 2.24m. Zhou Hui from Jiangsu won the women's triple jump with a personal best of 14.06m, and Hua Zihui from Zhejiang clinched the men's decathlon title with 7,855 points. Enditem