China’s Sheng Xuefeng gained males’s triple bounce gold on the 2026 Youth Olympic Games with a personal-best and world U18-leading leap of 16.18 meters on his worldwide debut. The 17-year-old now has his sights set on breaking the 17-meter barrier subsequent yr, whereas his coach emphasizes long-term technical growth over rapid outcomes.
by sportswriters Wang Qi and Zhang Zewei
DAKAR, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) — China’s Sheng Xuefeng overcame early nerves to win the boys’s triple bounce gold medal on the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, producing a world under-18-leading leap of 16.18 meters on his worldwide debut.
The 17-year-old’s victory helped China end its athletics marketing campaign on a excessive, with two golds, one silver and one bronze on the ultimate day of competitors at Iba Mar Diop Stadium.
“I’ve brought glory to my country,” Sheng mentioned. “Taking the title has boosted my confidence. Standing there as the national anthem began to play, that sense of pride only deepened.”
Despite competing in temperatures of 34 levels Celsius and battling jet lag, Sheng took an early lead with a gap bounce of 15.60 meters earlier than enhancing to fifteen.74 meters within the second spherical.
“Back home, it’s usually around 29 degrees Celsius, which feels much cooler. Being here for the first time, combined with the lingering jet lag, left my body feeling out of sync,” he mentioned.
“But that’s just how sports are: you can’t skip a contest just because you’re uncomfortable. You have to do your best to adapt.”
Despite his early lead, Sheng admitted he was removed from comfy.
“The warmups felt amazing. But once the competition started, I couldn’t find my groove. Maybe it was the environment, or maybe my mindset was a bit off,” he mentioned.
“When that first jump landed, I was terrified. I thought: That’s far from my best level. What am I going to do today? Am I really going to lose?”
His coach, Qiu Hong, was much less involved, believing Sheng had but to achieve his full pace on the runway.
“They gave us a cushion. In my estimation, that distance was practically enough to lock in a top-two finish,” Qiu mentioned of the opening two jumps.
“Sheng hadn’t hit his full runway speed in the first two attempts due to the pressure of a major competition. By the third and fourth jumps, however, he would find his rhythm.”
Sheng recalled his coach encouraging him to “dare to run and jump,” drawing on his energy in accelerating via the ultimate strides of his method.
With his teammates waving Chinese flags and cheering from the stands, Sheng sought to place his nerves apart.
“I told myself not to get rattled. I’m here representing China, so I have to leave everything on the runway to bring home the gold medal,” he mentioned.
Sheng appeared to have discovered his kind within the third spherical, just for his effort to be dominated a foul after he overstepped the takeoff board.
The stress elevated when Uzbekistan’s Shakhzodbek Kholmurodov jumped a personal-best 15.71 meters, closing to inside three centimeters of Sheng’s lead.
But Sheng responded emphatically within the fourth spherical, hovering 16.18 meters to ascertain a private finest and the world’s main under-18 mark of the yr, in accordance with World Athletics.
“He had a slight problem with his footing, which threw off his takeoff angle a little,” Qiu mentioned. “But the kid showed real grit. He somehow corrected his body position in midair.”
Sheng reported discomfort in his foot after touchdown and skipped his fifth try as a precaution.
With victory already secured, he returned for a last bounce of 15.10 meters, encouraging spectators to clap alongside as he approached the runway.
The gold medal marked one other milestone in Sheng’s growth. In August, he gained the triple bounce title at China’s nationwide youth video games with a wind-assisted leap of 16.58 meters.
Sheng mentioned his Dakar expertise had taught him precious classes about dealing with stress and making ready for main competitions.
“It taught me how to dial in my focus under pressure and structure my pre-meet warmup more thoroughly,” he mentioned. “Looking ahead, that lesson will be invaluable for the bigger stages down the road.”
The teenager is now concentrating on the 17-meter mark as he prepares to maneuver into the under-20 age group subsequent yr.
Qiu, nonetheless, pressured the significance of managing his athlete’s growth quite than chasing rapid outcomes.
“My focus right now remains on his fundamentals and basic technique. We need to make sure we protect our young talent first, without rushing for specific results,” he mentioned.
“I believe he still has plenty of room to grow technically.”
Sheng has been known as as much as practice with China’s nationwide group alongside established athletes together with Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Zhu Yaming.
“Most triple jumpers reach their peak around 24 or 25, whereas Sheng is only 17. We will take it step by step,” Qiu mentioned.
For Sheng, the expertise of competing and successful on the worldwide stage has strengthened his ambitions.
“Stepping into the U20 group next year, I’m ready to push myself to even greater heights,” he mentioned.