Su Bingtian (; born 29 August 1989) is a Chinese former track and field athlete specializing in the 100 metres event. He was the first-ever Asian-born sprinter to break the 10-second barrier and remains the only Asian sprinter to ever break 9.9 seconds. Su's personal best of 9.83 seconds makes him the all-time 10th-fastest man in the history of 100 metres at the Olympics, the all-time 19th-fastest man in the history of the 100 m event, and the current holder of the 100 m Asian record. Su's personal best in the 60 metres of 6.42 seconds placed him within the all-time top six in the event.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Su made history by becoming the first sprinter of non-African descent to reach the Olympic 100 m final since 1980. In the semi-final, as well as setting his 100 m personal best (9.83), Su also ran the fastest 30 m and 60 m ever recorded under any conditions (3.73 and 6.29 seconds). Su was a silver medalist at the World Indoor Championships in 2018, the gold medalist at the 2018 Asian Games 100 m, a silver medalist in the relay at the World Relays in 2015, and a bronze medalist in the relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Early life Su was born on 29 August 1989, in Zhongshan village, Guangdong province, China. His parents farmed their family lands in 1980s China. Even after Su later achieved national renown, his father continued to work as a security guard and his mother worked as a nanny. Su was first exposed to track and field training in middle school, after being scouted by his PE teacher who saw him touching the basketball board with ease while being only tall. His middle school didn't have any specialized sprint coaches besides a PE teacher. Even so, he was a back-up sprinter doing mostly managerial preparatory work for the track team throughout and did not compete until 9th grade. Despite not having formal training, he ran a time (11.72) just 0.01 seconds slower than the best sprinter in the city district. Su was passed on and deemed an untalented sprinter in numerous occasions by the coaches of the city-level track and field team.
It was also during middle school that Su met his wife Yanfang Lin, whom he described as "his life-long best friend and love of his life."
Career Early career Su's career started with his entry into the Guangdong provincial track and field team in China, known for its history of producing outstanding national-level Chinese short distance sprinters and warm weather year-round which is conducive to outdoor track training. His first professional track coach and mentor Yuan Guoqiang was the first Chinese 100 m national record holder in the early 80s at the start of digital-timing era and was a short (5'6) sprinter himself. When Su's admittance into Guangdong Dong track and field team was met with initial resistance by other coaches, Yuan Guoqiang took special notice of Su's personality, stride frequency and stride tempo, whom other coaches easily passed on and overlooked for his supposed lack of talent due to Su's short stature at the time. According to Yuan, Su was "methodical, professional, absolutely concentrated, and an intelligent runner. Few athletes I coached were as committed as he was to the sports".
Su broke onto the continental scene with three straight wins in the 100 metres on the Asian Grand Prix series in May 2009. His first medal came in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 11th Chinese Games later that year, where he helped the Guangdong team including Liang Jiahong and Wen Yongyi to the gold medal.National Games Athletics event results. Tilastopaja Oy. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
He also began representing China internationally that year and shortly after the National Games he won the gold medal over 60 metres at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games, running a personal best of 6.65 seconds.Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2009-10-31). Li Ling's vault victory and Huong's 60m triumph highlight opening day of Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08. He was selected for the relay at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships and won a silver medal alongside Guo Fan, Liang Jiahong and Zhang Peimeng. He took the individual 100 m title at the East Asian Games, defeating Japanese rival Shintaro Kimura.Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2009-12-12). China's Liu Qing completes double but overall it's Japan's day – East Asian Games, Day 3. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
He equalled the Chinese indoor record in the 60 m in Chengdu in 2010, running 6.58 seconds.Su Bingtian. Tilastopaja Oy. Retrieved on 2019-10-08. At the 2010 Asian Games he won the relay gold with a national and Games record time.Bahrain takes two distance running golds – Asian Games, Day 6. IAAF. (2010-11-27). Retrieved 2019-10-08.
During March 2011, Su set a new Chinese national 60 metres indoor record in Chengdu with a time of 6.56 seconds. He went on to establish himself as his country's top male sprinter that year: he won the 100 m title at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships in a personal best of 10.21 seconds, was the bronze medalist at the 2011 Summer Universiade, then competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu (running in the heats of the relay).Su Bingtian takes Asian 100m title in Kobe – Asian champs, Day 2. IAAF (2011-07-09). Retrieved 2019-10-08. He ended the season by breaking the Chinese record to win the 100 m at the Chinese Athletics Championships with a time of 10.16 seconds, improving upon Zhou Wei and Chen Haijian's former best mark.Jalava, Mirko (2011-09-11). Women's throws, men's 100m national record highlight the Chinese championships. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
In 2012, Su qualified for the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, marking his first participation in an indoor IAAF World Championships. Su subsequently reached the semi-final of the 60 m at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Later that year, Su also became a 100 m semi-finalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.Men's 100m . London2012. Retrieved 2019-10-08. He ran a wind-aided (+2.9 m/s) 10.04 seconds at the start of the outdoor season and ended it by defending his national title in the 100 m.Jalava, Mirko (2012-09-26). Chinese championships close out domestic season well. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08. With the Chinese relay team he ran national records twice that season, timing 38.71 seconds in May and improving to 38.38 seconds with Guo Fan, Liang Jiahong and Zhang Peimeng in the heats of the Olympics.Ramsak, Bob (2012-08-10). London 2012 – Event Report – Men's 4x100m Relay Round One. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
His 2013 began with two 60 m national records in Nanjing, where he ran 6.56 seconds and then 6.55 seconds.Jalava, Mirko (2013-03-07). Dong Bin leads the way as indoor records tumble in Nanjing. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08. Zhang Peimeng beat Su's 100 m national record in May 2013, but Su quickly responded with a personal best of 10.06 seconds at the IAAF World Challenge Beijing.Jalava, Mirko (2013-05-21). World leads from Chicherova and Oliver in Beijing – IAAF World Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
Later that year, Su qualified for the 2013 IAAF World Championships, marking his first participation in an outdoor IAAF World Championships in an individual event. On 10 August 2013, Su raced in the sixth heat of the first round in the 100 metres, subsequently qualifying to the semi-finals by clocking 10.16 seconds. The following day, he was drawn into the first semi-final against former world champion Justin Gatlin. Su was disqualified in the race due to his false start, thereby rendering him unable to progress to the finals.Report: Men’s 100m semi-finals – Moscow 2013 IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-08. Su's compatriot Zhang Peimeng also once again replaced Su as the 100 m national record holder, by clocking a time of 10.00 seconds in the semi-finals of the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
2014 Starting from 2014, Su Bingtian was part of the Chinese Track and Field initiative led by its national head coach Yuan Guoqiang (Su's early mentor and provincial coach in Guangdong Track and Field team) that 1) sent its top track athletes to USA for more systematic and scientific training in order to be competitive internationally 2) hired competent foreign track coaches to coach locally at China. They trained at the IMF Academy Track & Field and Cross Country located at Florida. Su's aim was to break 10 second barrier through participating in this initiative.
It was through this initiative that Su first met his later mentor and coach Randy Huntington, who was responsible for coaching Chinese national team of long jumpers at the time in China. Their encounter was not pre-planned. It was by coincidence that Randy Huntington chanced upon Su's training nearby. Su's decision to change his starting leg was a reaction to Randy Huntington's suggestion. Randy performed a test on Su by pushing him randomly when he was not prepared, and the first step Su took in reaction to this push was taken by his right one. Randy suggested he changed his starting leg to the right one for that would fit Su's natural neurological pattern better. The aim was to change his entire 100 m pace and allow him suffer from less de-acceleration after the first 60 m while maintaining his advantage at explosive start in the first half of the race. At the beginning of his transition to change starting leg, Su was for a time even slower out of block than a female sprinter when he trained at IMF Academy after he returned to USA. His first 60 m race after implementing the change was only 6.71 and his 100 m best was 10.80.
Yuan Guoqiang said that Su was so obsessed with perfecting his start at the time that he would work on his block start even when he was taking a walk, woke up in the middle of the night and contemplated why he couldn't perform the move as well as other world class athletes, and he would proceed to discuss the matter with his teammate Xie Zhenye.
2015
On 30 May 2015, at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, Su clocked a historic 9.99 seconds in the 100 m, becoming the first Asian-born sprinter to achieve a sub-10 second clocking. Su's historic sub-10 second clocking allowed him once again to regain the 100 m national record from compatriot Zhang Peimeng, ending their national record 'tug-of-war' which had begun in 2013. Su's coach Yuan Guoqiang later stated that: "Zhang Peimeng's 10.00 national record set at the World Championships in Moscow has given him (Su) more courage; it convinced him (Su) even more that a sub-10 clocking was not an impossible mission for Chinese athletes."
Later that year, Su qualified for the 2015 IAAF World Championships which were held in his home country of China. On 22 August 2015, Su raced in the first heat of the first round of the 100 metres finishing second behind Asafa Powell in 10.03 seconds. The following day, he was drawn in the first semi-final against defending champion Usain Bolt. Su finished in fourth clocking a time of 9.986 seconds tying Jimmy Vicaut's time in the third semi-final; since they were tied for the eighth-fastest time, they were both entered into the final, marking the first-ever nine-man final in World Championship history. Su then raced in the final, finishing 9th with a time of 10.06 seconds. Su subsequently became the first ever Asian-born athlete to run in a 100 m World Championship final.