Paris Olympics: why does Asia struggle to produce track stars? What needs to change?

The notable exception, of course, has been China’s Su Bingtian, who made history in Tokyo by becoming the first sprinter of non-African descent to enter the Olympics 100m finals since 1980.

Su, who missed this year’s Games through injury, has a personal best of 9.83, which would have given him fifth place in Monday’s race. Liu Xiang, won the 110m hurdles in 2004, and his time in Athens of 12.91 is still the Olympic record.

But these successes are few and far between.

In contrast, Western nations continue to dominate on the track, as the United States holds a world-leading 344 Olympic gold medals in athletics, headlined by Carl Lewis’s nine, while Usain Bolt and Elaine Thompson-Herah bring Jamaica into the conversation as well.

Physiology

The fundamental determinants of aerobic capacity have proved to be the same between Chinese athletes and their Western counterparts.

And even though Hong Kong and Chinese women have relatively less haemoglobin in their blood, a factor that could suppress aerobic capacity, they are able to compensate with increased cardiac function, according to University of Hong Kong (HKU) Assistant Kinesiology Professor David Montero.

However, Montero added that while higher cardiac function can level the playing field for long-distance runners, sprinters require a different arsenal.

“Sprinters need strength and power, so the size of the human body matters a lot. The muscle mass determines performance,” he said.

By contrast, China has had fewer struggles in endurance-based races, where 20-kilometre walk world record-holder Yang Jiayu has just clinched her first Olympic gold, Hong Liu owns the 50km walk’s world record, and Wang Junxia has done the same with the 3000m race.

Montero added that Chinese sprinters often have arguably less muscle mass, a factor that can diminish power generation off the blocks.

“For the same training, their (Chinese sprinters’) body composition is different. At the elite level, it seems to be the same. So Chinese have a disadvantage for strength and power sports.”

Development programmes

Sports technology remains essential in advancing a country’s competitive edge in athletic development.

And although China has begun investing heavily in sports technology, Dr Michael Tse, Director of the Centre for Sports and Exercise at HKU, said these systems needed to be built from the grass roots level, rather than be prioritised for elite athletes.

“In China, they have all the systems. But how much is it down to the lower level? Maybe you have it here [pointing his hand upwards], but what about here [pointing downwards]?” Tse said. “If you look at some high schools in the US, they have these projects even in high school.”

Tse also mentioned talent identification as a missing spot in the procession for Chinese athletes.

“You have to be able to identify talent first. It’s about what people want and what you think they can do. It’s about having a better system that can be more conducive to everyone’s interests as well as their abilities.”

Culture

We’ve understood that exposure and developmental programmes differ. But why?

Western and Asian cultural differences reflect broader societal values – where sports are seen as a major avenue for personal growth in the US, while academic success is prioritised as a path to stability in Asian countries.

“Track and field in Europe and in America is everywhere, and is taken very, very seriously,” said Carl James, who specialises in applied sports science at Baptist University. “So if you think about it in a performance pyramid, that base is much, much wider, therefore the ability at the top of the pyramid is greater.”

In many Western countries, sports is a powerful tool for scholarships, social mobility and national pride.

The extensive infrastructure identifies talent early and nurtures it through systematic coaching and competitive opportunities.

Dr Xin Zhang, Director of Sports Science and Technology Research Centre at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), highlighted the stark difference between children in and out of Asia.

“In all Asian societies – India, East Asia, Korea, China, Japan – all of them place great emphasis on studies and academic achievements, and sports are sacrificed,” Zhang said. “It’s a perennial challenge.”

But the paradigm is shifting. Asian societies’ embrace of sports could help promote a more level playing field in the future.

Nutrition and training

China’s ascent to a global powerhouse in recent years has translated into its sporting scene, where economic expansion has paid dividends to athletes.

Historically, the Chinese diet was predominantly plant-based, largely centred around rice, as well as vegetables and meagre amounts of meat.

Tse said progressive improvement in athletes’ diets has spurred improvement on the track, but could have once been a setback compared to their Western counterparts, who had more balanced diets.

Studies have also revealed a gap in education levels between Western and European athletes, as well as access to specialist scientists.

“You generally have more money invested in support services in Europe and North America,” James said. “There are more sports scientists employed in America and Europe than there are in Asia.”

On the training front, Western athletes are typically granted more high-level competition before competing at the world’s biggest sporting stages.

“If they had the funding to go compete at high pressure tournaments before [they compete abroad], that’s going to give them better coping strategies at the highest level,” James said.

“The players who have been in those pressured environments before will deliver. It’s different across regions of the world, but whether they’ve even had somebody to provide adequate support comes back to the point about access to specialist support services.”

Investment

Most high school sports coaches work part time, with their primary job being physical education teachers. Meanwhile, a majority of coaches in the US commit to that as their full-time job.

And it reflects in the numbers – American high school coaches are paid about US$55,337 (HK$432,257) annually, while Chinese high school coaches are paid about CN¥186,055 (HK$201,934).

“In the US, already from junior high school level, they’re competing between schools at the highest level as they can,” said Tse, who added that in China, only top athletes are invited to the National Training Centre, with “no interuniversity, high-level competition where recruits actually come out of”.

The perceived importance of sports in the society also determines what a country would spend on its athletes.

“If you look at the budgets of elite sports providers and sports institutes around Europe and North America or Australia, they dwarf what’s spent in a lot of other countries,” James said.

James further suggested that increases in investment is linked to increase in medal count.

Exposure and a gradual climb

Tse, who represented Hong Kong in the men’s single sculls event at the 1996 Olympics, highlighted the role of China’s economic development in increased exposure.

“In the trading world, (China) started reaching out more to other countries. They are now finding ways to feed off the knowledge of other coaches,” he said. “Even myself, when we worked with high-calibre athletes who come from different countries, it definitely helped the training and raised our level more.”

Asian athletes have previously been limited by economic constraints and less-developed sports infrastructure, hindering their access to the global sports community.

Today, however, the landscape is markedly different and doors have opened for athletes to absorb diverse coaching techniques and practices.

“In the past, athletes couldn’t just go and train in the US or wherever, they couldn’t go. Now, it’s much easier. They had a different system then.”

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