Zhang Peimeng, the last of the Chinese relay quartet, is one of the fastest men in Asia. (Photo : Zimbio)
China's relay team grabbed silver medal for the 4x100m relay held recently at the Bird's Nest Stadium. The Chinese runners snatched the win after the U.S., who previously held the tilt, was disqualified.
The Chinese team became instant superstars during the game held at the Bird's Nest Stadium after they found themselves promoted to the second place.
The relay team was then celebrating their unprecedented gold medal after their 38.01-second run when the second placer U.S. was disqualified for exchanging the baton out of zone. Canada was also then lifted to the third spot, with 38.13.
The quartet was led by two of the fastest men in the Asian region, Su Bingtian and Zhang Peimeng. The team kicked off on the ninth lane.
Mo Youxue and Xie Zhenye, who completed the team, kept the group at par with their competitors. Birthday boy Su improved the team's position to fourth in the third leg, while Zhang edged Canadian's J. Warner to end on the third spot.
During the team's lap of honor, Su, who turned 26 on that day, received a chorus of the "Happy Birthday" song from the National Stadium audience.
"This is the moment of life. Can you imagine that 80,000 people sang birthday song to me?" Su remarked.
"I had never thought of winning a silver medal. I told my teammates that we should be just as relaxed in the final as in training because we already made history by reaching the final," the first Chinese to achieve the world men's 100m final at 9.9 seconds added.
"We have been training very hard to make four people as one. We practiced baton exchange every day since this May," he furthered.
Meanwhile, Zhang, previous national record holder, said what he felt upon receiving the baton. He state: "I was under huge pressure when I took the baton from Su Bingtian. I felt like we were closer to a medal and I surely did not want to be the one who squandered our opportunity."
"I went all out. We made history," he enthused.
One of the members of last Saturday's crowd was former Olympic and world 110 hurdles champ, Liu Xiang.
"I am so happy for them. They created history. I know they have been working extremely hard and they brought out every bit of their potential. They deserved what they won," shared Liu, regarded as the most famous Chinese athlete who retired this year.
