Speedster Chen hopes to go the distance

Three years ago, Chen Yujie was still a middle school student watching the Hangzhou Asian Games from home, with snacks and drinks beside her as she followed the athletes on television.

Now, at 17, she is an Asian Games champion.
At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, Chen won the women’s 100 meters in 11.06 seconds, setting an Asian Games record and an Asian U20 record.

Two days later, she added a silver in the 200m in 22.93 seconds.

The two finals offered contrasting results, but together they gave Chen a clearer picture of where she stands and where she wants to go.

Ahead of the 100m final, Chen was filmed lying on the floor at the training venue, covered by a small blanket and apparently taking a nap.

The image quickly went viral in China, with social media users joking about the young sprinter’s ability to “sleep anywhere”.

But Chen’s own account of the hours leading up to the final suggests she was far from relaxed.

“I was so nervous,” Chen said of the semifinal, when she finished second in her heat after spending much of the race watching the runner to her right, only to realize at the finish that another competitor was coming through on her left.

The preliminary and semifinal rounds had both produced 11.41 seconds. Chen later said she had been too conservative in the first round and had been told by her coach to run within 11.40.

The final was different. Chen settled into her rhythm and crossed the line in 11.06 seconds, taking the title, with defending champion Ge Manqi absent due to injury.

“There was only one thought in my mind: finish the race safely. Don’t make a mistake. Don’t false-start,” Chen said. The victory also marked a personal milestone.

“This was my last 100m race before turning 18, and this result is the best coming-of-age gift I could have given myself,” she said.

Afterward, wrapped in the Chinese flag, she turned toward the cameras and shouted: “Mom and Dad, I did you proud!”

Chen Yujie of China celebrates after the women’s 200m final of athletics at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept 27, 2026.

Her parents were both sprinters, and her father recorded a personal best of 10.80 seconds in the 100m.

Chen’s own ambitions already extend beyond the Asian Games. She has said she wants to compete at the World Championships and Olympics and “leave my mark on Chinese and Asian women’s sprinting”.

However, she is aware of the gap between success at the continental level and on a world stage.

After the 100m, she noted that times in the 11.2-11.3 range can win races in Asia, but are not enough to contend for medals globally.

“To compete for those medals, you have to get under 11 seconds, even into the 10.7 or 10.6 range,” she said.

Yet Chen does not see breaking 11 seconds as an immediate concern. “What’s more important is performing every step well in daily training,” she said.

“Maybe, as I keep improving every technical aspect, I’ll naturally break 11 seconds.”