For Chinese racewalking athlete Wang Hao, the national competition is only a preparation for his 2012 Olympic goal.

The world silver medalist made his personal best Thursday in Jinan, eastern Shandong Province, at the 11th National Games, wiping off his own record by nearly one minute and claimed the gold in the 20-kilometer racewalking.

The winning time -- one hour 18 minutes and 13 seconds -- is already among the world's best.

China's track and field events have long been a set-back compared with other sports events. Wang's silver medal at the Berlin World Championships this August and the progress in this tournament can be encouraging to all athletes.

Confidence, if not anything else, is what Wang brings to the nation.

Chinese race walking athletes can produce astonishing results in domestic competitions. However, they often fail to find forms -- either affected by fouls, or find themselves short of energy -- in world's tournaments.

The jinx was finally shattered by Wang when he made the breakthrough in Berlin and powered home a silver medal.

His efforts opened a gate for more rewards. Later on, his teammates reaped in one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the same championships, which were out of expectations.

A national title was far from enough for Wang. He already chopped one minute off his own best, with one more minute fall, he can renew the world record that Russian -- an dominant force in the event -- set in 2007.

"Thanks to my coach, I have see my improvements in the past several months," he said. "I have to train harder in the next couple of years, and I believe in myself."

Four years later in London, we may expect a new "Liu Xiang".