Photo/Zhangjian (NBD)

Wu Yanni, a 26-year-old hurdler from Sichuan province, China, won the silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles final at the Chengdu Universiade on August 4, setting a personal best of 12.76 seconds. She was only 0.04 seconds behind the champion from Slovakia, and improved her previous record of 12.86 seconds that she achieved in the semi-final earlier that day.

Wu, who was born in a military family, started her athletics journey in elementary school after being influenced by her grandfather, who thought girls should not be weak. She chose hurdles as her main event.

Wu said she had been preparing for the Universiade with her coach and support team for a long time, and regarded it as a “report performance” and a “dream journey” in front of her family and teachers. “My goal was to enter the final and fight for a good result,” she said.

Wu also had the honor of being one of the 31 torchbearers who lit the main torch at the opening ceremony of the Universiade on July 28, which coincided with her birthday. She said it was the best way to commemorate her youth.

However, Wu’s path to glory was not smooth. She faced setbacks and failures in previous competitions, such as being disqualified for a false start at the Asian Athletics Championships in July, and finishing second at the National Games in 2021 after suffering an injury. She also endured online criticism and mockery for her mistakes.

But Wu did not give up. She learned to accept her failures and grow from them. She also received support and encouragement from her mother, who often accompanied her during training, and her coach Yang Hui, who treated her like a daughter. Wu said she was grateful for their help and guidance.

Wu hopes to inspire more people to pay attention to women’s hurdles, but she does not want to be called “the female Liu Xiang”. “Liu Xiang is Liu Xiang, his halo should not be put on anyone else’s head, and I am also unique. Because every young person is the hero of their own story,” she said.