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20 March 2023, Hong Kong – Leading PRC-based professional sportswear enterprise Xtep International Holdings Limited (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) (Stock code: 1368.HK) announced that its “Championship Running Shoes” “160X” series, helped He Jie and Yang Shaohui break an over 15-year-old national record in the 2023 Wuxi Marathon held on 19 March 2023.

On 19 March, He Jie and Yang Shaohui wore the Xtep Championship Running Shoes “160X” and won the first leg of the National Marathon Championships, 2023 Wuxi Marathon, taking the runner-up and second runner-up positions in 02:07:30 and 02:07:49, respectively. They both broke the Chinese marathon record that Ren Longyun held for over 15 years, and qualified to join the Paris Olympic Games. In addition, there were several climaxes and highlights during the marathon on that day. In the men’s full marathon at Chongqi Marathon, Ethiopian runner Anderson Saitoti Seroi won the championship with a time of 02:11:55 and the top three runners all wore Championship Running Shoes “160X”. In the women’s full marathon, the champion winner, Fantu Zewude Jifar from Ethiopia also wore the Xtep “160X 3.0 PRO”. At Chongqing Marathon, the Xtep Championship Running Shoes “160X” had a big win. Xtep has helped 51 runners win 232 championships so far.

He Jie broke the national marathon record with a time of 2:07:30	Yang Shaohui broke the national marathon record with a time of 2:07:49

Since 2018, the world-renowned “160X” running shoes series has repeatedly entered the international stage. Xtep has continued to increase investment in research and development, polish and innovate, focus on the technologies and product equity of the running shoes. Since its debut, the “160X” series has been continuously advanced and redeveloped to expand its matrix to cover multiple scenarios, including racing, training and amateur running to meet the demand of runners with different abilities. In September 2022, Xtep launched the “160X 3.0 PRO”, the new-generation running shoes under the “160X” series. This new series adopts the “XTEP ACE” cushioning technology which employs the world's first PISA supercritical foaming technology to give professional runners excellent rebound and propulsion. It also helps protect the knees of mass market runners from injuries. Moreover, according to an assessment report published by an international institution, the “160X 3.0 PRO” is comparable with or even superior to the top running shoes of major overseas brands in terms of such core functions as cushioning, slip resistance, wear resistance and rebound. In its development history, the Xtep “160X 3.0 PRO” series has not only achieved outstanding results in various races, but has also won a number of global awards for running shoes, for example, it was named “running shoes surpassing 99% of laboratory tested products” and “functionalities meeting top international standards” by Runner’s World, the most influential running magazine in the world, reaffirming that the series has overtaken numbers of international professional running shoe brands.

In addition to having strong product technologies, Xtep has also come to possess unique brand equity by building a running ecosystem. Currently, the Xtep Runners Club has over 1.7 million members, making it one of the largest and most active branded running groups in Mainland China. Guided by its new “World class Chinese Running Shoes” strategic positioning, Xtep will continue to support road running in Mainland China. Through product innovation, sponsorship of sporting events and athletes, offering operational support to running groups and organizing 5km/10km races, Xtep will continue to build an international standard running ecosystem. In 2019, Xtep and the Chinese Athletics Association jointly launched the “athletes and running” incentive scheme to comprehensively improve the competitive standard of Chinese marathon runners. According to the requirement of the “athletes and running” record breaking prize, both He Jie and Yang Shaohui will receive the “athletes and running” grand prize of RMB1 million. It is believed that their achievements will spur more Chinese marathon runners to challenge themselves and strive for loftier goals. As more Chinese athletes are motivated to work harder to raise their personal performance, this will in turn elevate the sport in China to a higher standard.

Mr. Ding Shui Po, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xtep International Holdings Limited, concluded, “In 2022, Xtep running shoes registered a 35% overall wear rate and ranked first among the top 100 male athletes in Chinese marathons due to their superior wear rate among all brands. For four consecutive years, Xtep running shoes have ranked first among domestic brands in overall wear rate. It has also surpassed international brands, ranking first among all brands for the first time. A series of brilliant results highlight the strong product recognition that Xtep “160X 3.0 PR” enjoys from Chinese elite athletes and mass elite runners. 19 March 2023 is therefore destined to be recorded in the annals of marathon history in China, marking the beginning of a new chapter. With a series of successes, Xtep’s Championship Running Shoes“160X” have witnessed the glory and pride of China’s marathon history. It has also seen Xtep bravely take up the banner of world-class Chinese running shoes, claiming another victory on the strategic track of running. We therefore believe that this represents a fresh start. Going forward, Xtep will continue to devote efforts towards reaching the top position in the world and endeavor to devise a new blueprint that will alter the landscape of global running competition.”