Xinjiang's 17

Ailixier Wumaier, a 17-year-old runner from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, broke the men's 400m national indoor record with a time of 45.79 seconds at the country's National Indoor Athletics Championships to win the title on March 31.

He smashed his own national indoor record set at the National Indoor Athletics Grand Prix in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, in mid-March this year. Before that, the record stood for nearly 17 years.

Photo shows Ailixier Wumaier, a 17-year-old runner from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Ailixier said he ran faster than his peers since he was a child. At the No. 2 Middle School in Wensu county, Aksu Prefecture, he was included in the track and field team at his school.

"I enjoy the sound of the wind as I run, and it feels like I'm flying!" Ailixier said.

He was scouted out by the sports bureau of Xinjiang and received training at Aksu Prefecture Amateur Sports School and Xinjiang Sports Vocational and Technical College in the regional capital Urumqi for a short period.

Ailixier then became a member of a training team of the sports bureau of Xinjiang. To fully tap into his potential, his coaching team devised a 10-year plan for him. They have sent him to Germany to train.

Aside from his exceptional talent, Ailixier also trains hard. He always tries his best during training and often pushes himself to the point of having muscle cramps, according to his coach Zhang Yang.

Photo shows Ailixier Wumaier, a 17-year-old runner from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Thanks to his talent, science-based training, and hard work, Ailixier has been gradually standing out. Last season, he shattered the national junior record in the men's 400m three times within a year. At the first Student (Youth) Games held in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last year, he won with a time of 45.71 seconds.

Ailixier's favorite athlete is Asia's fastest sprinter Su Bingtian, who made history by becoming the first Chinese sprinter to qualify for the Olympic men's 100m final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Su set an Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the men's 100m semifinals at that Olympics.

Photo shows Ailixier Wumaier, a 17-year-old runner from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Ailixier said he was excited to watch Su's performance on his phone. "It felt like I was running together with him. Seeing him embrace the national flag, I felt that I embraced the national flag, too," he said.

In less than 20 days, Ailixier will compete in the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Dubai.