On August 1, Chinese athlete Xia Yuyu from Tsinghua University clinched the gold medal in the women’s 10,000-meter race at the Chengdu Universiade.

Today, we will bring you the story of Xia Yuyu, a national athlete and an alumna of Tsinghua’s athletics team.

“The emotional rollercoaster I experience when I am on the track made me fall in love with endurance running,” said TsinghuaRen Xia Yuyu. By “emotional rollercoaster,” Yuyu means experiencing the urge to give up, yet persevering and obtaining victory after victory.

Yuyu’s running career began in middle school when she first attempted endurance running. Unlike other sports, where athletes’ previous achievements are also taken into consideration during evaluation, running is a sport against oneself, where runners’ performance is assessed based on specific timing benchmarks. This realization further strengthened Yuyu’s passion for endurance running.

After undergoing a series of professional training sessions and participating in numerous running competitions, Yuyu came to the realization that excelling in endurance running hinges on two essential skills: strength and stamina.

“There are no shortcuts in endurance running,” said Yuyu.

Soon after, she started gaining recognition for her impressive achievements in numerous 1500m and 3000m track events.

Like many young athletes in China, Yuyu also aspired to earn a place in Tsinghua’s athletics team. Her dream came true after she was enrolled at Tsinghua University High School.

Yuyu describes her time in high school as a rewarding experience of uninterrupted growth as an athlete, and her growth continued after she entered Tsinghua University three years later.

Yuyu’s most prominent achievements to date include her championship titles in the 5000m and 10000m events at the Universiade, the 10000m event at the National Athletics Championship, the 5000m event for four consecutive years, along with the 10000m event for three consecutive years in the State University Track and Field Competition.

“The results a runner achieves are a reflection of their determination and perseverance through countless hours of many training sessions, for there is no such thing as ‘miracles’ on the track,” said Yuyu.

It can be exhausting to spend a significant portion of time in relentless training. However, with support and encouragement from her parents, coaches, friends, and family, she has persisted, claiming the top spot in various competitions and realizing her dream of entering Tsinghua’s athletics team.

Yuyu joined Tsinghua’s women's athletics team as the youngest endurance runner. Despite being the sole endurance runner on the team following her seniors’ graduation, she didn’t feel discouraged. Besides self-training, Yuyu pushed herself to train with the men’s team. Although the athletes were of different genders and came from varying departments and backgrounds, Tsinghua’s athletics team felt like a big ‘family’ to her as everyone trained for a common goal. The empathy and sense of solidarity from her teammates encouraged her to persevere and remain faithful to her dream. Yuyu knew that with the support of her ‘family’, no barrier should hinder the journey to her ultimate goal of constantly improving herself as a runner.

These days, with gained experience, Yuyu has come to believe that securing victory in endurance running goes beyond just strength and stamina; judgment and knowledge also play significant roles. Unlike in other sports, endurance runners must make on-the-spot judgments and create strategic plans to reach their goal—the finish line. A well-trained runner understands well the importance of incorporating each aspect to execute an efficient run.

Tsinghua congratulates Yuyu on her well-deserved victory, and wishes her to continue blazing her path with unwavering determination and passion in running, seizing more championship titles, and realizing even greater dreams!

Writer: Sherese

Editor: Liu Shutian