Jiangsu Province weightlifter Chen Yanqing smashes world records in the women's 58kg at the 10th National Games yesterday. -Xinhua

World records are already falling at China's last pre-Olympics National Games - and they haven't even officially started yet.
Competition at the nationwide competition, which formally opens in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, today, is hotter than ever this year because it is the last such showcase before the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
China was second in the medal tallies at Athens with 63, but has set a target of 110 medals in Beijing to overtake the United States for first place. Results at the National Games may provide an indication of how close they are to meeting that goal.
Seventeen-year-old Li Ping set a mark high in preliminary competition on Monday, breaking the world records in the women's 53kg class clean and jerk and total weight.
That was followed by Athens Olympic champion Chen Yanqing's smashing all three records in the 58kg weightlifting class yesterday.
Chen hoisted 112.5kg in the snatch, besting compatriot Wang Li's two-year-old world record by 2.5kg.
She then lifted 142.5kg in the clean and jerk to break Sun Caiyan's 2002 world record of 133kg. Her combined total weight of 255kg was 15kg more than Wang Li's old record.
The 26-year-old Chen has seen her career revive since winning gold in Athens, her first major title since winning the 1999 world championship in Athens.
"I competed here only for the gold medal, but I had not expected to lift such a good result," Chen said.
"Because I am the Olympic champion, people considered it as a sure bet that I would win the gold ... I felt too much pressure before the competition," she said.
This year's games are the biggest yet, featuring 9,992 athletes competing in 32 sports from those familiar to Chinese such as table tennis to those less so, like BMX.
The 357 separate events are being held in 10 cities of the province through October 23.
The games, described by China as its "little Olympics," were first held in 1959 when the People's Liberation Army team dominated the games.
As well as a test of the athlete's Olympic preparations, the games are an organizational dry run for the 2008 games. IOC President Jacques Rogge and representatives of international sports federations are due to visit to observe and advise.
China is also using the games to get tough against doping.
The vice director of the games' Doping Control Department, Zhao Jian, told the Xinhua news agency yesterday that 1,600 urine tests will be carried out at the Nanjing Games, 20 percent more than at the last games in 2001.
Stricter enforcement of anti-doping measures has netted 26 athletes this year. The positive results came from a range of sports, with weightlifting the largest offender, and included athletes who did not show up for out-of-competition tests as well as four students who failed screening while applying to enroll at a sports college.
Two skips is counted as a positive test, punishable by a competition ban lasting at least two years.
Weightlifters accounted for 12 of those charged with using performance enhancing substances, Zhao said. Others to test positive included an equestrian, rower, speedskater and cyclist.
With preliminary competition already underway, no athletes had yet tested positive.
(The Associated Press)