Olympic Medalist Zhu Aims For Season Best At World Athletics Championships

Olympic medalist Zhu aims for season best at World Athletics Championships (Image Source: IANS)

World Athletics Championships: Tokyo Olympic triple jump silver medalist Zhu Yaming hoped to achieve his season best at the upcoming World Athletics Championships, here.

Zhu and his teammates took a training session in the National Athletics Center on Friday, one day before the 2023 athletics worlds begin, reports Xinhua.

Zhu told Xinhua everything has been going well so far, and he hoped to qualify for the final through his first attempt on Saturday and save the best for the last.

"I can feel the pressure because the World Championships are such an important event for everyone. I tried to calm down. You can probably jump well yesterday, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow," said the 29-year-old.

Like many other Chinese athletes, Zhu said the newly built stadium makes athletes feel excited and comfortable.

"This is a great venue. The track is close to the audience and it's easy to enjoy the atmosphere. I love this stadium," said Zhu.

Nelio Alfano Moura, a Brazilian coach in the Chinese jumping team, said Zhu has been recently in good shape and he believed Zhu can fight for a medal in Budapest.

"Triple jump is a very tough event with many strong competitors. There are so many great athletes around the world and Yaming is definitely one of them," said Moura. "He has proven that he can jump really well. He finished well in the Tokyo Olympics and Oregon World Championships, and I believe he can do it well here in Budapest."

As the bronze medalist in Eugene last year, Zhu jumped 17.36m in China's National Athletics Championships in June, which Zhu believed was a new start for him.

Moura was also confident that Zhu will achieve a better result. "If he can achieve his season best here, he will be able to fight for a medal. 17.36m was good enough for the national competitions in China but it's not his goal. I think he will try to reach the Asian record here in Budapest, or in the Asian Games in Hangzhou," he said.