Zou Zhenxian has been waiting for 22 years to see his triple jump national mark rewritten.

Zou Zhenxian

And he is not willing to wait any longer.

That is why Zou, the former men's triple jump Asian record holder and a World Cup silver medallist, is organizing the "Baiyunshan Cup" National Triple Jump Challenge next month in Guangzhou.

The challenge, scheduled for September 27, will feature China's top eight triple jumpers trying to beat 17.34 metres - the mark set by Zou at the 1981 Rome World Cup.

That astonishing mark earned Zou a sliver medal at the World Cup, one of the few medals to be won by Chinese men's athletes at major international tournaments.

The mark, dubbed the "Moustache Mark" because of its long history, has remained intact until now and is the oldest athletic mark on the national athletic record list - even two years older than Los Angeles Olympic bronze medallist Zhu Jianhua's 2.39-metre men's high jump national record which was set in 1983.

Zou said he was desperate to see his mark surpassed at the tournament.

"I am really anxious because that record has stood for 22 years," he said.

"It is not a good thing to see such an old record in athletics because it means that the level of the sport has been falling."

For Zou, now a supervisor for the national athletic team after having quit his coaching post, the mark is a challenge for young Chinese jumpers hoping to step up to world class levels.

"The mark is world class and whoever breaks it will be able to enter the top six in international competitions."

Zou revealed he had been searching for such a hopeful since he retired from track and field in 1986 but so far he has been searching in vain.

"I hope such an athlete will emerge as soon as possible," he said.

Zou's pupil Lao Jianfeng, men's long jump Asian record holder, who was once seen as one of the major hopefuls to break that mark, said he and his team-mates need to work much harder.

"I do not know why that mark has stood for such a long time," he said.

"But I know we need to work harder to reach that level."

The nearest jump to equalling the mark was 17.31 metres from Chen Yanping in the early 1990s. Chen once jumped 17.50 to win the gold at the 1990 Beijing Asian Games but the mark was assisted by the wind.

But the level of performance in the event has dropped dramatically in recent years, as few have even jumped past 17 metres.

The tournament had been held four times since 1997. In this year's event, an automobile will be given as a bonus to the record breaker, in addition to prizes provided by the tournament sponsor Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Corporation.

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