Su Bingtian, right, of China competes during the men's 100m final of athletics at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug 26, 2018. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China's five-medal haul in track and field tells only part of the story of a breakthrough Olympics for a team that delivered some of the most memorable performances of the Tokyo Games.

A total of two golds, two silvers and a bronze was actually a bronze less than the six medals the squad collected at the 2016 Games. The feel-good factor in Tokyo, however, far outweighed that of Rio, where the medals were won in just three disciplines (20km race walk, triple jump and hammer throw).

In Tokyo, the medals were spread across five disciplines, while sprinter Su Bingtian's historic dash into the 100m final thrilled fans back home with a highlight-reel moment for the ages.

Su became not just the first Chinese to reach an Olympic 100m final but also the first Asian man to do so in 89 years.

"The excellent performances of the Chinese athletics team in Tokyo are unprecedented, which shows that China's speed, power and stamina belong on the world's biggest stage," said Guan Lianjun, team leader of the Beijing athletics team and a national team official for the Tokyo Games.

The squad's two golds came in the women's shot put and javelin－both first-time titles for China.

China's improvements in track and field in Tokyo are part of an upward curve that began after the Rio Olympics

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Gong Lijiao, 32, who won bronze in 2008 and silver in 2012, finally got her hands on the gold that had eluded her for over a decade on Aug 1. It was also China's first Olympic title in a field event.

Five days later in the javelin, world silver medalist Liu Shiying threw a season-best 66.34 meters with her first attempt to secure gold, a result which took even Liu by surprise.

"I'm shocked to win the gold medal, but I think it could be attributed to my good state of mind today," said the 27-year-old.

"I was really happy after the first throw. I hadn't thrown very well this year, so I was very satisfied with my performance today."

Liu's teammate Lyu Huihui, who prior to the Tokyo Olympics was ranked third in the world this year, at 66.55m, finished fifth with a throw of 63.41m.

Triple jumper Zhu Yaming also made history for China. His silver medal, achieved with a personal-best leap of 17.57m, was China's best ever result in the event at the Olympic Games.

China had failed to build on Zou Zhenxian's fourth place at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, languishing behind the event's elite for decades. However, five years ago in Rio, Dong Bin bagged bronze (17.58m), with Zhu going one better on the podium.

"China's triple jump is first class, but there is still a small gap to close at the very top," Zhu said. "I was luckier than Dong since I won silver here. Now I hope Chinese athletics can go from strength to strength."

China again flexed its muscle in the women's hammer, with Wang Zheng taking silver (77.03m). It was China's fourth straight Olympic medal in the event, with Zhang Wenxiu bringing home two silvers and a bronze from the previous three Games.

The only regret came in race walking, as defending champion Liu Hong had to settle for a bronze in the women's 20km, while her teammate Qieyang Shijie, who won the silver at the 2019 world championships, finished seventh.

In the men's event, Asian champion Wang Kaihua was dropped by the leaders in the latter stages of the race and crossed the finish line in seventh.

Raising the bar

A host of breakthroughs on the track, led by Su's historic feat, were arguably every bit as satisfying as the team's podium moments.

The 31-year-old Su has blazed a trail for Chinese sprinting throughout his career, and he summoned all his strength and experience to produce yet another milestone by winning his semifinal in an Asian-record 9.83 seconds.

Despite being the fastest qualifier, Su could not quite reproduce that form in the final and finished sixth in a race won by Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs. As the first Chinese to ever run an Olympic 100m final, Su's place in history was already guaranteed and he could walk away with his head held high.

He later led the men's 4x100m relay team to a fourth-place finish－the same result as Rio－in a national record-tying time of 37.79.

China showed it is also making progress in the women's 100m, where Ge Manqi, 23, became the nation's first Olympic semifinalist in the event. Ge ultimately missed out on the final, finishing seventh in her semi in 11.22.

The women's 4x100m relay team managed a best-ever sixth-place finish in the final, improving on the eighth spot from its only other previous final appearance, at the 2000 Sydney Games.

There was also a notable result for Xie Zhenye, who became the first Chinese to reach an Olympic men's 200m semifinal, while Wang Chunyu finished a highly respectable fifth in the women's 800m.

Led by multiple world and Olympic champion Wang Junxia, China used to be a force to be reckoned with in women's middle- and long-distance running in the 1990s. However, since Xing Huina's 10,000m gold at the 2004 Athens Games, China has endured a lean spell in these disciplines.

"China's middle- and long-distance running is not that strong right now, but at least I can say I am world-class now," said the 26-year-old Wang Chunyu.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe on Sunday heaped praise on China's track athletes in Tokyo.

"China has been on an upward trajectory for a number of years across many more disciplines," the former two-time men's 1,500m Olympic champion told reporters.

"You've seen the strength in endurance events. Chinese relay teams now are extremely competitive. You have seen the broad range of talent that has emerged and is emerging in the field as well. Su Bingtian is a really good example of the progress that is now being made in the short distances."

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Appliance of science

China's improvements in track and field in Tokyo are part of an upward curve that began after the Rio Olympics.

At the 2017 world championships, China claimed two gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Two years later at the Doha worlds, it finished with three medals in each of the colors, the nation's best ever result at the worlds since the 1993 edition in Stuttgart.

At the Tokyo Games, China sent 59 athletes to compete in 24 track and field events with an average age of around 27.

Applying scientific training methods and participating in more international competitions are credited as key reasons for the success.

"Achieving breakthroughs in modern competitive sports depends on the application of scientific technologies in training," said team official Guan. "In recent years, China's athletics team has paid greater attention to this."

The team used image-processing technology to analyze athletes' movements, and reduced injuries through advances in nutrition, rehabilitation, psychology and medical science.

It seems the recruitment of world-renowned coaches has also had the desired effect.

Su's American coach, Randy Huntington, for example, was hired by the Chinese Athletics Association in 2013. Huntington, who has worked with the likes of current men's long jump world-record holder Mike Powell and 1980s triple jump great Willie Banks, primarily oversaw China's sprinting and long jump teams, but even proved beneficial to 800m runner Wang.

"When nobody believed I could do it, only Randy trusted me," Wang said. "He kept encouraging me. In his heart, he does not just believe that I can stand on the podium, he also thinks I can challenge anyone."

Sending athletes to train and compete abroad more frequently has also contributed to the turnaround.

Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the Chinese athletics team had signed contracts with more than 20 overseas training bases.

"Hiring foreign coaches and sending athletes abroad helped us change our training concept, while the scientific training broke the bottleneck of improvement. All these things have allowed us to achieve the breakthroughs in recent years," said Guan.

More to come

Although winning fewer medals in Tokyo than at previous Games, the US still dominated the athletics program, underlining the sizable task ahead of China to catch up to its rival.

And with many of China's medalists and finalists in their 30s, ensuring younger talents are ready for action at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be vital.

Veteran Su has yet to confirm his post-Games plans, although triple jumper Zhu has already set his sights on the future.

"I haven't reached the top of my journey in the triple jump. I need to keep climbing and be a really successful jumper," said the 27-year-old. "I will definitely come back for Paris 2024, and maybe even 2028 in Los Angeles."