The first of the visits took place at Suzhou High School, where hundreds of kids formed a guard of honour to welcome the five athletes: Hamish Kerr of New Zealand; Valarie Allman and Chase Jackson of USA; and Bokai Huang and Zhong Tao of China.
The athletes were given a tour of the school’s museum, learning about the local area and its wildlife and imprinting their hands on a clay mould to commemorate their visit. They then walked to the school track where hundreds of young, aspiring athletes were waiting to be put through a session by the stars, who divided into groups and assumed the role of coaches.
Jackson, the two-time world champion, demonstrated shot put technique for a horde of youngsters, who mimicked her action, throwing rolled-up paper balls instead of shot puts. “They were super cute and so well behaved – I can't relate,” laughed Jackson, who signed countless autographs for the students once the session was complete. “There's something about it here: the respect and love they have for sport is really admirable.”
Jackson’s advice to the students? “Just keep being an athlete,” she said. “Don't try and push yourself too hard, too early. Just have fun with it while you can.”
Across the field, Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman was putting a young group through their paces, showing them how she warms up and demonstrating a number of exercises.
“This was one of the most meaningful experiences,” she said. “I feel like coming to a country when it's your first time and getting to feel such authenticity and energy, their love, their passion – it's an experience. Seeing how a country celebrates, how they work, how they enjoy life – I think when I walk onto that field (on Saturday) I'll definitely carry that momentum and be able to use it to bring out the best of my performance.”
Down the other end of the track, Chinese pole vaulters Huang and Tao helped arrange an impromptu high jump competition for youngsters, while across from them, Kerr, the reigning world indoor high jump champion, led a group of athletes through various drills.
“It was awesome,” said Kerr. “Usually this amount of kids is pretty chaotic but they were very well behaved. It's amazing to see the history of their school and the history of the area that we're competing in because ordinarily, we don't get to see that.”
It marked a welcome change from his usual experience on the circuit. “It can get quite artificial going from place to place just doing what we do, so to kind of feel like we get a bit of a taste of the city and the people is awesome.”
Kerr is hoping many of the kids come along to cheer on the athletes on Saturday night. His advice to the next generation to one day reach that same level? “Just love it, just keep enjoying it,” he said. “I never saw this as something I could do full-time or as a job but I just had an intense love for the sport and enjoyed turning up. That was the way I got here: just getting better every year and enjoying it.”
Later in the afternoon, a quartet of other star names paid a visit to Xi’An Jiaotong University, where they were met with a hero’s welcome, taking part in a Q&A with students and observing training and competitions on the track.
Two-time world pole vault champion Sam Kendricks was among them and the US star was unsurprisingly inundated with autograph requests.
“It was exciting and almost overwhelming,” he said. “I see so much untapped potential with so many kids and I hope they all come watch (on Saturday) and get inspired to train themselves.”
Also in attendance were Wang Fang, a four-time Paralympic sprint champion from China; Mujinga Kambundji, a world indoor 60m champion from Switzerland; and Laulauga Tausaga, the reigning world discus throw champion from the US.
“This is my most fun Diamond League experience,” said Tausaga. “It’s so fun to see how engaged the students are. They’re so excited to see what’s happening and that’s what these appearances do: they bring so much more to our sport, not just for them to see world-class athletes, but for us to realise that we are world-class athletes.”
One of the questions Kendricks was asked by the students was whether talent is the most important thing for athletic success. “And it’s not,” he said. “You might have to have someone who’s been there and done it to tell you that to believe it. It’s a matter of time and if you put in the work. Being special sometimes takes time.”
From the champions of today to the potential stars of tomorrow, it was a powerful message to leave behind.