Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Wang Jingjing) news: On the morning of November 16, 2025, at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center in south China's Guangzhou City, the 22-year-old Xinjiang athlete Ailikuti Yishake achieved an excellent time of 10.33 seconds in the men's 100-meter preliminary race, breaking the regional record he had set in July. This also marked the first time in 12 years that a Xinjiang 100-meter athlete had once again stepped onto the field of the National Games.

"This is a significant breakthrough for Xinjiang's 100-meter sprinting. Based on his personal characteristics, we developed a more scientific and systematic training approach for him during this National Games cycle, ultimately achieving this breakthrough on the field," said coach Abuduweili Abudukadir, adding that Ailikuti has injected fresh vitality into Xinjiang's sprinting.

Photo shows the Xinjiang athlete Ailikuti Yishake. (Photo provided by Ailikuti Yishake)

This young athlete from Hami City of northwest China’s Xinjiang first got involved with track and field during junior high school. Under the guidance of his P.E. teacher, he gradually revealed his talent for sprinting. In 2021, at the age of 18, Ailikuti participated in the National Middle School Students Games and clinched the championship with a time of 10.44 seconds, instantly meeting the elite athlete standard. At that time, he was still a sophomore in high school. "I've frequently secured places in track and field events at various campus competitions since I was young. Running boosts my confidence, and I get excited whenever I compete," he said.

This outstanding performance marked a turning point in Ailikuti's life. As a naturally gifted athlete, he smoothly made it into the Xinjiang Track and Field Team and embarked on the path of professional training. However, the intensity of systematic training far exceeded his expectations, with the high-load regimen making him vomit almost every day during the initial phase. His starting technique and reaction speed once posed the most challenging bottlenecks for him to overcome.

To address these weaknesses, he dedicated himself day after day to refining his starting movements and repeatedly enhanced his mid-race capabilities using small hurdles. During training, he also felt exhausted at times and even came close to breaking down. "Whenever I was too tired to continue, I would watch the video of Su Bingtian breaking the Asian record with a time of 9.83 seconds over and over again," he said. "That strength supported me, encouraging me to keep striving to match the achievements of my predecessors and continue pushing forward."

The 22-year-old Xinjiang athlete Ailikuti Yishake clocked an impressive time of 10.33 seconds at the 15th National Games of China on November 16, 2025, breaking the regional record he had set in July. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Wang Jingjing)

On the field of the National Games, when the time of 10.33 seconds was frozen on the scoreboard, the Xinjiang 100-meter record was rewritten, blending joy with regret in that moment — although he had broken the record, he ultimately ranked 15th, narrowly missing out on advancing to the semifinals. "Breaking your own limits is the best thing. You're still young, don't overthink it. Everything happens for the best," his sister wrote in a message to encourage him.

For Ailikuti, his first journey to the National Games of China marked both an end and a beginning. "There are still many areas where I can improve, and I will definitely work even harder!" he said.

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