Su Bingtian, the Chinese sprinting standout who earned a team bronze at Tokyo 2020, has declared his retirement from athletics. The 36-year-old shared the news on social media on Tuesday, December 9, explaining that his body now signals it’s time to pass the baton to the younger generation.
Bingtian holds the Asian record in the men’s 100 metres with a personal best of 9.83 seconds, achieved in the Tokyo 2020 semi-finals in 2021. That performance made him the first Chinese man to reach an Olympic 100m final, where he finished sixth. He later contributed to China’s bronze-medal effort in the men’s 4x100m relay.
Looking back, 2015 marked a milestone as Su became the first Chinese athlete to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100m, clocking 9.99 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Oregon. Earlier years also saw him triumph in the gold-medal race of the men’s 4x100m relay at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and advance to the semi-finals of the 100m at London 2012.
