With days to go before the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games open, 17-year-old Chinese sprinter Chen Yujie has embraced the Olympic spirit as a torchbearer. Last November, she ran 200 meters in the torch relay near Patras, Greece—her slowest such distance yet, but one focused on sharing a message rather than speed. At last year's National Games in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, she won gold in both the women's 100m and 200m, becoming the youngest athlete in the event's 66-year history to claim both sprint titles.
Chen Yujie's ascent has captured attention. Last November, she joined the torch relay in Greece, reflecting: "Everyday competitions are about speed and efficiency; the torch relay is more about passing on a spirit." As a rising star in Chinese sprinting, she aspires to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and soak in the Olympic vibe. Despite her growing profile, she stays humble, prioritizing daily life over the weight of expectations. "Once the season starts, competitions come thick and fast. Most of the pressure is in your own mind—you imagine problems, thinking: 'What if I can't do it?' Sometimes I lie awake before a race, but I try to approach it with a lighter mindset," she said.
At Ningbo Xiaoshi High School, her peers and educators share her anxiety and joy. Teacher Yao Peijie recalled: "When the starting gun fires, the whole classroom goes silent. Everyone watches the screen intensely. Once she crosses the finish line, we can't help but cheer. The excitement is indescribable. She's our pride."
The school offers a tailored tutoring setup, including one-on-one sessions and an English tutor to keep her studies and language sharp amid international travel.
Her routine is rigorous: morning classes, afternoon sessions at the sports school, evening self-study. During camps, mornings are for rest, afternoons for training, and evenings for phone time, tablets, or crafts. Technique honing remains a key hurdle; she noted: "For me, even if I get a movement right now, and it seems stable after a few races, months without major competitions or intense training can make it unstable again. I have to go over it repeatedly to find the right feel."
Both parents are former athletes who never pushed her into sports but backed her pursuits. She dabbled in dancing, painting, tennis, and taekwondo before an elementary school coach spotted her talent. Initially, her parents hesitated, aware of the path's rigors.
In June 2024, at the National Championships in Rizhao, Shandong province, she claimed her first national title, beating Olympic runners Liang Xiaojing and Ge Manqi in the 100m final. Last September, she became the youngest woman to race at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships, entering the 200m heats and 4x100m relay.
At the 15th National Games, she set a women's U20 Asian record in the 100m with 11.10 seconds en route to gold. Two days later, battling fatigue, she clocked 23.02 seconds in the 200m, shattering a 2001 Games record. The toughest stretch came after the 100m final: back at her hotel around 3 a.m. post-ceremony and testing, she rose at 6 a.m. for the 200m semifinals. "It felt like I had only had a nap; my body wasn't fully recovered, but I still tried to adjust," she remembered—and triumphed.
For Zhejiang province, she took bronze in the women's 4x100m relay and fourth in the mixed version. Her composure through a week of intense events earned her the moniker "Little Big Sister."
On the track, her concentration is laser-focused: in a 200m, she eyes rivals early but locks on the finish line in the final stretch. Looking ahead, she said: "I have a long future ahead of me, and it feels like every direction is one in which I can run. I haven't set limits for myself—I just keep running forward, striving to go as far as possible."
