Chinese sprinter Chen Yujie gave a CCTV interview in which she displayed the blue nail polish she wore during the Asian Games and described her approach to success as keeping her view of herself modest, according to 手机新浪网. The 17-year-old, a student at Ningbo Xiaoshi High School, won three gold medals and one silver at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in her first appearance at the event, the most golds of any Chinese track and field athlete at the Games, 手机新浪网 reported.
Chen took the women's 100m title in 11.06 seconds, setting an Asian Games record, according to the report. Two days later she finished second in the 200m in 22.93 seconds. She added golds in the women's 4x100m relay and the 4x100m mixed relay, where she ran the anchor leg and overtook Thailand to win, 手机新浪网 reported.
Why it matters
Chen's results place a high school student at the top of China's track and field medal table at a continental games, and her stated outlook has drawn attention in Chinese media. The interview, reported by 手机新浪网, focused less on the medals than on how she explains them: as the product of ordinary daily life rather than a single defining achievement.
Asked how she came to see things so clearly, Chen said she has always been a calm person and tries not to let results or praise from the internet weigh heavily on her. She said she concentrates on living each day well and keeping her own small routines, according to the report. She also described happiness in unremarkable terms, saying that a plain, predictable life lived with family and coaches who are healthy and content is itself a form of good fortune, and that one should feel happiness while pursuing it.
The blue nail polish, visible in the CCTV footage, became a detail that illustrated that attitude, 手机新浪网 reported. It has no official significance and was not presented by Chen as a symbol; it drew notice because it sits outside competition and shows a side of a 17-year-old champion away from the track.
From tennis to the podium
Chen was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, in 2008, according to CCTV reporters cited in the report. Her parents were both track and field athletes, but she did not start in the sport. She first trained in tennis, and a coach suggested she try athletics when her tennis progress stalled, initially as a hobby class. She kept at it and eventually reached the podium.
That background helps explain her habit of calling her Asian Games results normal, and her composure after winning three golds and a silver, the report said. After the Games she posted a photo of the three golds on social media with the message "I'm a three-gold queen," and noted that the Games' 98th, 131st and 143rd gold medals for China were all connected to her, according to 手机新浪网.
Her public comments have followed a consistent line. She has thanked her teammates after the mixed relay win, saying the strength of a team is boundless, and credited third-leg runner Shi Junhao with holding off Thailand's Bunsong under pressure, the report said. She has also described the post-race scene as teammates hollering like four little monkeys, a remark that circulated widely online.
What comes next
According to CCTV reporters Gao Lei and Zheng Yizhe, Chen now faces preparation for both the university entrance exam and the Olympics, along with the 2027 World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Beijing. Her own summary of the road ahead, as quoted in the report, was: "Good luck on the exam, and if I'm healthy, break 11 seconds."
Her 100m time in Nagoya, 11.06 seconds, leaves 0.07 seconds to that mark, a threshold that matters for reaching finals at major international meets. Whether she closes that gap, and how she handles the dual demands of school and elite competition, will be the things to watch.
