China’s Zhang Guowei clears the bar on his way to winning the silver medal in the men’s high jump at the World Athletic Championships at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing on Aug. 30.Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press
It was a fitting end for the hometown fans at the Bird's Nest.
China captured two more medals on the final day of the world championships to cap an unexpectedly successful week with a record nine medals – more than double its total from Moscow two years ago.
"We won medals across the disciplines," said Du Zhaocai, director of the Chinese athletics association. "It's a first for us in a world-class event."
On Sunday, Zhang Guowei won a silver medal in the men's high jump and Lu Huihui matched him in the women's javelin. Competing at the same time but on opposite ends of the stadium, Zhang and Lu had the Bird's Nest hopping.
Midway through the evening, Zhang celebrated a clean jump by striking a kung fu crane pose – à la Ralph Macchio's character in The Karate Kid – drawing cheers and laughter from the Chinese fans. Moments later, Lu took the lead in the javelin throw and the stadium roared.
"It just felt great," said Lu, who set an Asian record with a throw of 66.13 metres. "It's my first time to be competing on my own doorstep. There were so many in the crowd supporting me."
Zhang, who took up high jumping when he was 15, cleared 2.33 metres to make a jump-off for the gold, but settled for second behind Derek Drouin of Canada after missing his only attempt at 2.34.
It was China's first high jump medal since Zhang's boyhood idol, Zhu Jianhua, won bronze at the 1983 world championships.
"A lot of pressure," the 24-year-old Zhang said. "I did not want to leave the spectators down."
China's athletes have been excelling under pressure all week – particularly in events where it doesn't have a winning tradition.
Take the long jump. Wang Jianan, a fresh-faced 19-year-old kid from northeastern Liaoning province, shook off a hamstring injury to win the bronze in front of another boisterous crowd, China's first-ever medal in the event.
Su Bingtian, meanwhile, not only became the first Asian sprinter to reach the men's 100-metre final at the world championships, he and his teammates also captured a startling silver in the 4x100 relay behind Usain Bolt and the rest of the Jamaican squad.
And race walker Liu Hong finally broke through to win gold in the 20-kilometre walk – the country's only title at the world championships – after taking home silver and two bronzes at the last three worlds.
Zhang, the high jumper, said he drew inspiration from his podium-hopping teammates this week – even if he didn't watch them in action.
"I thought I might get too excited," he said. "The high jump is on the last day of the competition so I wanted to stay calm."
With China hoping for an encore performance next year in Rio de Janeiro, Zhang may want to tune in for the show.