IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Beijing comes to a close

The third and final day of competition at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Beijing, China, came to a close on Wednesday (16 April) with 25 track and field events. Although no records were broken two long standing Asian records in the field did come under serious threat.

Teenager Mingyu Chen (6.83m) showed huge potential ahead of October’s Asian Para-Games in Incheon, South Korea, coming within 17cm of breaking Qifeng Duan’s long jump T12 Asian record which has stood since the Athens 2004 Paralympics.

Not to be outdone, London 2012 shot put and javelin F54 champion Liwan Yang (17.03m), showed she is strong in all throwing events finishing within 28cm of Ting Wang’s near eight-year-old discuss Asian record set at the 2006 World Championships.

On the track the highlight of the day was the men’s 400m T54 which saw 2008 and 2012 Paralympic champion, as well as world-record holder, Lixin Zhang go head-to-head with 2011 world champion and London 2012 bronze medallist Chengming Liu.

Chengming Liu (47.99) won the race finishing just ahead of London 2012 100m silver medallist Yang Liu (48.16). Disappointingly for Zhang (50.28) he could only manage third place.

In other events, London 2012 champion Huzhao Li (51.69) won the men’s 400m T53, multi Paralympic and world champion Hongzhuan Zhou (57.47), cruised in the women’s equivalent and Japan’s Daisuke Nakagawa was an easy victor in the men’s 5,000m T20.

Over the last three days, around 170 athletes from around the world competed in 133 different track and field events, setting nine regional records.

Attention will now turn to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where hundreds of athletes from 10 countries will compete in the II Caixa Loterias Athletics Open Championships, the third IPC Athletics Grand Prix of the year, which will take place between 24-26 April.

Star names set to compete for the home nation in Sao Paulo include Paralympic and world champions Alan Fonteles Oliveira, Terezinha Guilhermina, Lucas Prado and Yohansson Nascimento. American sprint stars Richard Browne and David Prince, and Australia’s Scott Reardon will also take part.