Zhao Jiaju claimed the title at the 336km Tor des Géants, breaking the 10-year race record, and will no longer participate in ultra-long cross-country races over 168km.
At the moment of crossing the finish line, Chinese spectators standing beside the finish line clutched their cheering signs; no one dared to cheer loudly, for fear that the slightest noise might cause the runner—who had endured more than 60 hours with almost no sleep and was crossing the line on legs that had gone weak—to vanish in an instant, like lingering snow melting under the sun.
This was no ordinary marathon; it was the Giro dei Giganti in Italy, internationally recognized as one of the most grueling races. Spanning 336.1 kilometers with a cumulative elevation gain of over 24,000 meters—equivalent to climbing three Mount Everests back-to-back—In previous years, the finish rate was less than 60 percent—a record that had stood for nearly a decade. No top international athlete had ever been able to break it, but it was Chinese runner Zhao Jiayu who finally shattered this decade-long barrier.
Few people know that Zhao Jiagu practiced martial arts in his early years and even worked as a food delivery rider to make ends meet.A year ago, when he first stepped onto the Giant’s Journey racecourse, by the 203.8-kilometer mark, his legs felt as heavy as if they were bound with solid lead weights—he couldn’t lift them another step. He had no choice but to rip off his race bib and, gritting his teeth, withdraw from the race.After a full year of intense training, he returned to this racecourse and ultimately brought the championship trophy back to China.
Over the course of the
entire race—more than 300 kilometers—he slept for less than an hour in total. When he was hungry, he’d take a couple of bites of the energy gel he carried with him; when he was tired, he’d lean against the mountainside for a brief rest of a dozen or so seconds,his stride never faltered, and he ultimately shattered the 10-year-old course record by a full 13 minutes. He is the first Chinese athlete to win this race and the first Asian athlete to stand on its top podium.When news of the
race reached China, many people’s first question was: How much prize money would come with this highly prestigious world championship title?
To the surprise of most, when facing the cameras after the race, Zhao Jiagu made no mention of this whatsoever; the very first thing he said was that he would no longer participate in ultra-distance trail races longer than 168 kilometers.
He also specifically cautioned casual sports enthusiasts not to get carried away by seeing athletes win championships and rashly attempt such high-risk, ultra-long-distance events. Moving forward, he plans to focus his efforts on encouraging more ordinary people to participate in everyday, low-impact sports.
Many people inevitably find this puzzling: after giving it his all to win an unprecedented championship, he immediately announced his retirement from ultra-distance events. Rather than capitalizing on the momentum of his victory to secure commercial opportunities and generate income, he instead plans to dedicate himself to the field of mass sports—a choice that is indeed unexpected to most people.
