Chinese Topgyal, the bronze medalist of the men's marathon at the Jakarta Asian Games, has qualified for both the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the 2019 Doha World Championships after winning the Xuzhou International Marathon on Sunday.
The Tibetan runner won the top place with a personal best time of two hours, 10 minutes and 31 seconds, according to the Tibetan middle and long distance running team.
Thus, Topgyal becomes the second Chinese marathon runner to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, as the IAAF sets the entry timing of 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women. Li Zhixuan was the first qualifier after she finished 13th at the Nagoya Marathon in 2:26:15 on March 10.
"Good performance comes from systematic training," said Kesang Tsering, coach of China's track and field team.
Topgyal, who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, came back from a training camp with the Chinese national team in Ethiopia. He will also feature in the Asian Marathon Championship, the World Championship, and the Universiade.
Besides Topgyal, China's Dong Guojian and Peng Jianhua, who also had decent results in Xuzhou International Marathon, were qualified for the 2019 Doha World Championships.
