A senior track and field official has played down expectations of a gold medal from China's athletes in marathon or race walking at the Beijing Games.

"The strength of Chinese athletes in the race walking and marathon still lags behind the world's top (athletes), so they do not have the same chance as 110m hurdler Liu Xiang in striving for a gold medal," said Wang Dawei, vice director of China's Athletics Administrative Center (CAAC).

"We might expect Liu to win a gold medal, but it's not in the pocket. So, for the race walking and marathon athletes, they still have to raise their level of competition and strive for more chances to compete with elite athletes from the rest of the world," he said.

Women's marathon runner Zhou Chunxiu is, perhaps, the country's best hope. She has been competing at international marathon events, fine-tuning her performance for the Olympics.

The 29-year-old Suzhou native claimed the London Marathon title last year with a run of 2 hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds - the top time of the year. Also in 2007 she grabbed a silver medal at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where her teammate, Zhu Xiaolin, finished fourth, with a personal best time.

Local media are predicting the women's marathon will be the nation's best chance of a track and field gold medal, beside the 110m hurdles. Even so CAAC's Wang urged caution.

"Although Zhou won the London Marathon, her result was 2:20:38. On the same route, famous runner Paula Radcliffe's best result is 2:15:25, which is a big gap," Wang said.

"Other runners, such as the 2004 Athens Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi and those from Africa, are also strong rivals. It is estimated there are at least six main opponents for Zhou, whose personal best is 2:19:51. So, she is not strong enough to be secure of a victory."

Zhou, too, is cautious about her Olympic outlook.

"Hosting the Olympic Games has put a lot of pressure on us and we have to adjust to cope with it," she said, after finishing second at the marathon test event for the Beijing Games on Sunday.

"At the Beijing Games it is hard to predict a result, but I will try to perform my best."

Compared with the marathon, China's race walkers will face an even greater challenge. Though Wang Liping took gold in the women's 20km, at the 2000 Sydney Games, China failed to pick up any medals at the following Athens Olympic Games and World Championships.

"In the coming three months, in the lead up to the Beijing Games, China's race walking team must train harder and try to make the most of its potential," Wang said.

The current situation is a change for the worse, after China's strong showing at three Olympics from 1992 to 2000, when it won two gold and two bronze medals.

Regarding the lineup of track and field athletes, Wang said this would be determined by the CAAC and the final list would be unveiled after a comprehensive test event next month.

"We will make a final decision on the name list according to training factors and competition results. After the test event we will publish the final list."

The "Good Luck Beijing" Athletics China Open, a test event for the Beijing Games, will be held from May 22-25 at the National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest". Hurdler Liu is also expected to try out the track.

(China Daily April 22, 2008)