Accomplishments and defects

In addition to individual medals, four women's marathon runners also grabbed a team title. Bai's teammate, Zhou Chunxiu, took fourth place while Zhu Xiaolin and Sun Weiwei finished fifth and 13th, respectively.

PRECIOUS MEDAL: Chinese race walker Liu Hong shows her bronze medal at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin. It was the first walking medal for Chinese women in 10 years (WU WEI)

"The plan was to run close and support each other as a team, not only physically, but also psychologically. Meanwhile, we mobilized all the Chinese available to cheer for them along the road. That was very helpful," Feng said.

A lack of competition experience on the Chinese side became evident during the nine-day event.

"We have problems in continuous competitions. Unlike foreign athletes who reserve their strength, some of our athletes exert themselves to the utmost early in the qualification round," Feng said.

During the first World Championships in Helsinki in 1983, Zhu Jianhua won a bronze in the high jump to become the first Chinese medal winner at the IAAF Worlds.

China reached its worlds apex in Stuttgart in 1993, coming back with four golds, two silvers and two bronzes. Much of the heavy lifting was done by a group of women's middle- and long-distance runners nicknamed the Ma Family Brigade after their coach, Ma Junren. Liu Dong won the 1,500 meters; Wang Junxia and Zhong Huandi snatched gold and silver medals in the 10,000 meters; and Qu Yunxia, Zhang Linli and Zhang Li swept the top three spots in the 3,000 meters, the only time the Chinese have swept a worlds event. China came in second behind the United States in the medal tally that year.

China's track and field went through hard times in the following years, after coach Ma and six of his runners were dropped from the national team following six failed drug tests before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The Chinese team came home with no medals in the 1997 and 2001 worlds.

The depression lifted with the rise of Liu Xiang, the talented 110-meter hurdler who won a bronze in 2003, a silver in 2005 and a gold in 2007.

The 26-year-old was the first man from China to win gold in the 110-meter hurdles event during the World Championships. He has subsequently become a household name in the country following his Olympic triumph in Athens and the 12.88 seconds he clocked to break the world record in Lausanne.

Du Zhaocai, Director of China's Athletics Administrative Center, said Chinese athletes still have a long way to go despite the gold medal win.

"The effort to innovate and break through is critical. On the one hand, we have to encourage domestic coaches to develop practical methods for specific games. On the other hand, we must take part in more international events and communicate with other countries," Du said.

Coached by Italian Sandro Damilano for a short stretch earlier this year, Berlin silver medalist Wang Hao said his technique has improved markedly. Starting next year, Chinese track and field team athletes will compete in more overseas events, and more foreigners will be brought in to help train athletes, said Feng.

HISTORIC SILVER: Wang Hao (left) becomes China's third male athlete to win a medal in the history of the World Championships. He won a silver in the 20-km walk during the competition in Berlin (WU WEI)

Coach Feng said priority will be given to technique-focused events, like the walking competition, women's shot put, discus, hammer throw and the men's 110-meter hurdles, while the team is preparing for London.

"We'll try to prevent a similar situation like that which we saw when Liu Xiang withdrew from the Beijing Olympics due to an injury and China's track and field fell as a whole," said Feng.

The United States still dominated in the Berlin championships, winning the No.1 spot with 10 golds, six silvers and six bronzes. Triple gold medalist Usain "Lightning" Bolt led the Jamaican team to a second-place finish with seven golds, four silvers and two bronzes. Kenya finished third with four golds, five silvers and two bronzes. China settled for 13th place and host Germany placed sixth with two golds, three silvers and four bronzes.