Early morning of September 6th, Beijing time
held in Brussels, Belgium
2026 World Athletics Diamond League Finals
Chinese player Yan Ziyi
With a score of 68.42 meters
Won women's javelin championship
And refreshed the competition record of this project
In the latest world rankings released by World Athletics
Yan Ziyi ranks first in women's javelin throw
Five Diamond League games this season
She won them all!
One shot to win!
She became the youngest women's champion of the Diamond League Finals
In May of this year, Yan Ziyi just turned 18 and finally entered the Diamond League.
This was the first time in her career that she had participated in the Diamond League. Compared with the final result of winning the championship, the game process was full of twists and turns.
After the start of the game, Yan Ziyi was in poor condition for the first three shots and only ranked third. Entering the last three rounds, the trend of the game began to change.
In the fourth throw, Yan Ziyi adjusted in time and threw 64.95 meters, overtaking the Paris Olympic champion and Japanese star Haruka Kitaguchi in one fell swoop.
In the fifth throw, her condition was further released, breaking the competition record of 68.11 meters held by American players. In the end, Yan Ziyi won the championship with 68.42 meters.
This is the first World Series gold medal for Yan Ziyi in her career. She has become the youngest women's champion in the Diamond League Finals and the fourth Chinese player to win the finals after Gong Lijiao, Lu Huihui and Feng Bin. After the game, Yan Ziyi said, "I plan to win first place in the following games and bring glory to the country!"
Her coach Lu Xiurong said, "Today's shooting was not smooth. Xiao Yan felt dizzy and uncomfortable. He may have some dietary problems, but in the end he withstood the pressure."
From the little girl who "wanted to give up"
To the javelin world champion
Yan Ziyi was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Since she was a child, she has been much taller than her peers and has amazing strength. In the third grade of elementary school, physical education teacher Shen Jinlong took a liking to her at first sight: "This little girl can throw a softball farther than a boy. She is a rare talent."
But at that time, Yan Ziyi didn't think it was a talent. She practiced every day and her hands were covered with mud. Seeing her classmates go home in beautiful uniforms, the little girl felt extremely wronged: "I don't want to practice anymore. I'm dirty every day." Her father only replied: "Try harder and give up if you can't." It was these words that made her return to the playground.
Later, at the Ningbo Haishu District Games, Yan Ziyi easily broke the shot put and softball records, attracting the attention of Ningbo Sports School coach Lu Xiurong. 10-year-old Yan Ziyi started walking training every week, starting with the shot put and also taking the javelin.
Yan Ziyi first practiced shot put for seven years, and her results were quite satisfactory. Lu Xiurong saw another way: "Her height, explosive power, and coordination are perfect for javelin throw, and she learns moves very quickly."
Talent is one thing, but Yan Ziyi also has a tenacity that refuses to admit defeat, and she also puts in a lot of effort in training. The training intensity increased from once a week to once a day. After each cast, she will reflect carefully and constantly polish the technical details.
In 2023, 15-year-old Yan Ziyi went abroad for the first time to participate in the U15 World Middle School Games, winning two gold medals in the women's shot put and javelin throw. In 2024, she joined the national team and "jumped" to participate in the national adult competition. She threw 64.28 meters at the Hangzhou National Track and Field Grand Prix, breaking the world U20 record in one fell swoop and even exceeding the Paris Olympics participation standards.
In the same year, she won the World Youth Championship with a time of 63.05 meters, 8.77 meters ahead of the runner-up. World Athletics selected her into the list of candidates for the annual female star, and the review read: "At the age of 16, she has repeatedly set world youth records in the women's javelin."
The best 18th birthday ceremony
“Ready to bring you more surprises”
In May this year, the day after her 18th birthday, Yan Ziyi participated in the women's javelin competition at the 2026 World Athletics Diamond League Xiamen Station. She threw 71.74 meters first, breaking the Asian record and the world U20 record, ranking second in the history of women's javelin, only 54 centimeters away from the world record.
Coach Lu Xiurong said that he had thrown 71 meters during winter training, and this result was expected. Yan Ziyi's response was: "I want to stabilize at this result, not just because I shot this result today."
And her limit is far from coming. Since the Olympic Games and World Championships have a minimum age for track and field throwing events (must be over 18 years old), Yan Ziyi has not yet participated in these two top events.
The little girl who wanted to give up because her "clothes were dirty" is now standing on top of the world, and her story has just begun.
Next, Yan Ziyi will also participate in the World Athletics Ultimate Championship and the Asian Games. She said she was ready to bring more surprises to everyone, but she also admitted that javelin is a highly technical event. "If I fail in the competition in the future, I hope everyone will give me more tolerance."
Congratulations to Yan Ziyi!
