Yearender: 2015, year of breakthrough for China's athletics

After decades of excruciating wait, the most populous country in the world finally got a guy who can dip under the 10-second barrier in 100m sprint in 2015. Su Bingtian, a 26-year-old Cantonese, clocked 9.99s twice in the year to establish himself as the fastest man in China.

The 1.71m-tall sprinter dashed to a career best of 9.99s to finish third behind American Tyson Gay and Mike Rodgers at the 2015 IAAF Diamond League Eugene meet on May 30, beating the national record of 10.00s set by Zhang Peimeng at 2013 World Championships in Moscow.

"I am so proud for my result. I can write my name into history now and will work harder and run faster," said Su, who has became the first Asian-born to officially beat the 10s barrier although Qatar's Nigerian-born Femi Ogunode owns the continent record with his winning mark of 9.93s in last year's Asian Games.

Three months later at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, Su proved his success in Eugene was no fluke as he clocked 9.99s again to become the first Chinese to reach the men's 100m final in the worlds.

"Su's result did not come all of a sudden," said his coach Yuan Guoqiang, China's first national record holder in digital-timing era with a PB of 10.52s.

In the eyes of Yuan, Su's achievement came after years of hard work. But a revolutionary technique change turned out to be the immediate cause of his breakthrough.

Su had been using his right foot to start off in running for years. But he always found his third step a little bit weak and unsteady which would affect his intermediate running and the whole rhythm. After consulting with Yuan, Su changed to start with his left foot going forward first since last winter.

"It was like a desperate gamble, a brand new start for me. I knew if it works I would find some room to improve, otherwise it could lead to the end of my career," Su said.

"9.99s is like a landmark for China. As a Chinese I feel so proud to make such history. But I am not going to be over-satisfied with this result, I still have a long way to go and need to keep working hard in the future," said a modest Su.

Su's breakthrough performance is still no match of world best sprinters like Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, but Liu Hong, another flagbearer of Chinese athletics, has already signed her name on the world record book.

The 28-year-old race walker trimmed more than one minute off her previous personal best to win in one hour, 24 minutes, 38 seconds at the Spanish leg of the 2015 IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna, Spain in June, breaking the women's 20km race walk world record.

The former recognized world record was 1:25:02, set by Russia's Yelena Lashmanova when she won the Olympic gold medal in London 2012.

Her countrywomen Elmira Alembekova, Olimpiada Ivanova and Olga Kaniskina all registered a faster time with Alembekova's winning mark of 1:24:47 in Sochi in February being the fastest, but neither result has been recognized because the number of international judges at the event failed to meet the IAAF regulations.

"A good result depends on not only your own ability, but also some external conditions including the weather, the course and your opponents," said Liu. "I have planned to break the mark in several previous competitions. In Spain, every conditions were just right."

After becoming the world fastest female walker, Liu attributed her success to Italian coach Sandro Damilano, who has been guiding her since 2010.

"I am just an executor on the course. My coach and everyone of the team tried their best to help me achieve the goal. I feel lucky to train with him. He really helped me a lot," said a grateful Liu.

The excellent executor was once again triumphant at the World Championships in August. After having collected one silver and two bronze medals from previous editions, Liu finally climbed to the top of the podium after leading a one-two finish with teammate Lu Xiuzhi in Beijing.

The year of 2015 also witnessed the emotional farewell of China's icon hurdler Liu Xiang who announced retirement in early April and waved goodbye to fans and his beloved track at a special ceremony during the Diamond League Shanghai meet in May.

Wearing white sneakers, dressed in jacket and jeans, the 2004 Olympic champion and former world record holder presented awards to the 110m hurdles podium finishers and hugged his once arch rivals David Oliver, Orlando Ortega and Aries Merritt before attending the farewell ceremony.

On the stage, Liu turned around to wipe his tearful eyes before he could give a word. A big screen in the stadium played a video recalling Liu's splendid yet up-and-down career, including his Olympic winning race in Athens and record breaking run in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2006, also disappointing withdrawals from two Olympics.

"Over the years, the track and hurdles have been going side by side with my young days. In my career, I had never shrunk, never evaded reality, but everyone has ups and downs. It's you who make me feel so appreciative and thankful. Thanks a lot for your support, otherwise my life wouldn't be so brilliant," said Liu in his farewell speech in review of his 19-year dramatic career. Endi