71-year-old sprinter redefines aging with tenacity, record-breaking performance

A 71-year-old Chinese sprinter has become a national sensation after shattering the Chinese record for the 100-meter dash in his age group, showing age is no limit to achieving greatness. Dressed in a purple vest and bright orange shoes, Jin Hui, the runner, clocked 13.97 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the 2024 China Masters Athletics Championships held in east China's Qingdao City in late October. His achievement set a new national record for his age group.

Coach Zhang Zhongliang attributed Jin's exceptional performance to discipline, eagerness to learn, and unwavering spirit of perseverance.

"At his age, achieving a time of covering 100 meters in just over 13 seconds is something that many young people could hardly imagine," said the coach.

The China Athletics Masters Championship is a prestigious event organized by the Chinese Athletics Association, catering to retired professional athletes and passionate enthusiasts aged 35 and older. The competition features 10 age groups, ranging from 35 to 84 years, making it the highest-level event for senior athletes in the country.

In addition to his remarkable performance in the 100 meters, Jin also competed in the 200 meters, long jump, 4×100 meter relay, and 4×400 meter relay, winning gold medals in all five events.

"In this running race, I participated in five events and won gold medals in all of them. I was enjoying myself. Breaking the record was the happiest moment of my life. When you surpass your ultimate goals, that feeling is just incredible!" Jin said.

Jin's journey to athletic stardom began after his retirement in 2008 at the age of 55.

A former maintenance worker at a steel plant in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, he initially struggled to find purpose in retirement. After moving to Qingdao to live with his children, he joined a local senior soccer team. Though he admits his skills weren't the best, his competitive spirit drove him to maintaining his physical fitness.

Last year, a teammate encouraged him to try sprinting competitions. To his surprise, Jin finished second in the 100 meters at the National Masters Championships with a time of 15.26 seconds. This experience revealed his sprinting potential, prompting him to seek professional coaching and develop a tailored fitness and training regimen.

He has been competing throughout 2024, consistently improving his performance.

Behind his steady progress lies a clear goal, unwavering commitment, and a strong belief in himself.

Jin now has his sights set on international competition. He hopes to represent China and compete against athletes from around the world, showcasing the vitality and spirit of Chinese seniors.

71-year-old sprinter redefines aging with tenacity, record-breaking performance

A Canadian historian has shed light on how the horrors of the Nanjing Massacre were largely forgotten in North America, making it susceptible for distortion and denial of crucial facts.

In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), David Wright, an associate professor at the Department of History in the University of Calgary's Faculty of Arts, emphasized that the truth of the massacre in Nanjing is beyond dispute, yet several generations later, the West has not adequately preserved the memories of this history.

"My mother's and father's generation, they were alive when the Rape of Nanking happened. They were horrified to listen to reports on radios. And especially after the war was over, when the Tokyo war crime trials began, a lot more detail about the Rape of Nanking came out. In North America, the wartime generation remembered it and remembered it well. But then the next generation, my generation, baby boomers, that abhorrence was not passed on to us adequately well," Wright said.

The notorious Nanjing Massacre by Japanese troops led to over 300,000 deaths in 1937. According to the historian, the accuracy of this figure is supported by a robust body of evidence, but Japan's right-wing forces have nonetheless attempted to deny the number of victims as well as the severity of the crimes. Often, these claims rely on the absence of physical remains of the victims.

"They're dumped into the river. They're burned, a lot of them. You cannot find the remains. So they think they can find one or two errors you've made about photographs and from that conclude that the entire Rape of Nanking never happened. It's just nonsense. There is abundant evidence that something very, very terrible did happen in Nanjing," Wright said.

"And the people who deny it, I mean, historically they are nihilists. For them, history is all about image, not about fact. And if that thing really did happen in Nanjing, that's an inconvenient fact and they want to try to erase it by denying it," he added.

The Nanjing Massacre occurred after Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital on Dec. 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

Truth of Nanjing Massacre allows no distortion: Canadian historian