"I could not guarantee a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics. My target is among the top three," said former London Marathon winner Zhou Chunxiu last month after a close-door training.

Despite her low-key buildup for the Olympics, the 29-year-old Zhou definitely carries Chinese women's hope of winning an Olympic gold medal from track and field in the coming Olympics since Xing Huina, defending champion in the women's 10,000 meters, has pulled out due to injuries.

On April 22, 2007, Zhou became the first Chinese to win the London Marathon, one of the most famous marathon races in the world.

Five months later, struggling with ankle injury, she made history again by winning the silver medal in the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. This made her the first Chinese to win a marathon medal in the world championships.

Born in a farmer's family in central China's Henan province, she became a professional middle distance runner at the age of 18. While she was well on her way to be a future marathon star, she was told to quit marathon running because of serious ankle injuries.

She then retired in 2000 and was enrolled in the Suzhou University for a college degree. Her passion for running, however, never vanished. She joined the Suzhou track and field club in her spare time and started running again.

The first international race event she attended was the Xiamen Marathon in March 2003. She beat some Ethiopian runners, all pre-race favorites, and ran away with the gold. This happened only four years after she started systematic marathon training.

In the following two years, she defended her championships in the Xiamen race and won a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2006.

"She is really hard working and can persist under very high pressure. She is also very smart and can always keep a clear mind," said her coach Liang Songli.

"She ran 40 kilometers daily during winter training. That means one whole marathon every day. I was really impressed by her devotion into this," Liang added.

Zhou did not participate in so many races this year as before in order to save some energy. I will only take half marathon and 10,000 meters races to help maintain the best shape," Zhou said.

In the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 marathon race last April, Zhou took her last chance for a trial run before the Olympic Games. She finished in 2:37:49, 18 minutes slower than her personal best performance.

"It was just a trial run for me. Both my coach and I are not so serious about the result," said Zhou after the race. "I guess the weather would be very hot in August, which will be a big challenge for all athletes. I will try my best, but there will be no guarantee for a win."

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2008)