All three Chinese athletes eliminated in the 110m hurdles; Japan advances; Olympic champion suffers upset; Athletics World Championships medal tally update

On September 17th, Beijing time, during the fourth day of the 2025 Tokyo Athletics World Championships, a major upset occurred in the men's 110m hurdles semifinals. Paris Olympic champion Holloway underperformed and failed to reach the final. Meanwhile, China faced a heavy blow as all three semifinalists—Xu Zhuoyi, Chen Yuanjiang, and Liu Junxian—were eliminated, leaving only one Asian athlete, Japan’s Rashid Muratake, to advance to the final!

The 110m hurdles has historically been one of China’s strongest athletics events, famously marked by Liu Xiang’s emergence and World Championship gold, which filled the nation with pride. However, Liu Xiang was a once-in-a-century talent, and after his retirement, China gradually lost its dominance in this event. This Tokyo World Championships saw three Chinese athletes compete in the 110m hurdles: Xu Zhuoyi, Chen Yuanjiang, and Liu Junxian. They all delivered excellent performances in the heats, advancing to the semifinals with hopes of reaching the final!

However, during the semifinals, the three athletes underperformed and seemed out of form, running below expectations and ultimately being eliminated. None managed to break 13.30 seconds, with times even slower than their heats, possibly due to expending too much effort earlier as every round required maximum exertion to qualify. Additionally, a huge upset occurred as Olympic champion Holloway failed to make the final, shocking many!

In the final, American athlete Tinchiy showed his strength with a precise start and flawless clearance of each hurdle, ultimately winning gold with a time of 12.99 seconds. Although this winning time is much slower than in previous years, it still marked the USA’s sixth gold medal at this championship. Japanese finalist Rashid Muratake achieved an impressive fifth place!

Currently, the latest medal table shows a three-way tie for first place with one gold each. The United States leads with six golds, followed by Kenya and Canada in second and third. So far, athletes from ten countries have won gold medals. China remains ranked 15th. We look forward to more nations earning gold as the competition continues!

By Sports Fiction