Jihuan Li is a racewalker from the People’s Republic of China. Since the age of 18, he has been competing in professional tournaments, racking up an impressive list of competitions in his native country. Racewalking is an Olympic sport that sounds easy, and perhaps unusual. Its main rule is that one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times. Trying to maintain this over distances of up to 100km, whilst also walking as quickly as you can, is extremely difficult.

It’s a discipline that Li has been perfecting now for five years, with the hope of competing in either the 20km or 50km event at the Tokyo Olympics. His first major appearance was at the 2016 Chinese National Racewalking Grand Prix at Huangshan, a mountain range in the eastern part of the country. Competing in both the 10km and 30km races, he finished 18th in the former. At the same event the following year, he set his personal best time for the 10km race, finishing in 41 minutes, 23 seconds.

During 2018, Li began competing in various other events around China, including the 10,000 and 20,000 metres events at the Chinese University Championships. He achieved top ten finishes in both. He also took part in the Xi’an Chinese Autumn Racewalking Championships and Suzhou Around Taihu International Race Walking event. 2019 saw further events, with Li challenging himself by entering his first 50km event. He started 2020 on the right foot, with a season’s best time at the Race Walking Grand Prix in Shilin.