Athletics at the National Games of China

The competition has had an impact beyond national level through its record-breaking history, in particular by middle- and long-distance athletes coached by Ma Junren.

Known as "Ma's Army", he exercised strict control over his group of specially-selected rural peasant girls and applied tonics of turtle's blood and caterpillar fungus (ophiocordyceps sinensis).

[6] Chinese national records were also broken by Zhang Yu (12.64 seconds for the 100 metres hurdles and Ma Miaolan (6750 pts for the heptathlon).

[6] Xia Fengyuan and Sun Ripeng both set long-standing Chinese records in the 5000 m and the 3000 metres steeplechase that year.

Ma's career came to an end in 2000 when six of the seven athletes he was training for the 2000 Summer Olympics were banned after testing positive for erythropoietin (a blood-boosting agent).