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On the evening of May 4, the Nassau National Stadium in the Bahamas was bustling with activity, and the men's 4x100m relay preliminaries of the 2024 World Athletics Relay World Championships officially began. The Chinese team sent four flyers, Wu Zhiqiang, Xie Zhenye, Yan Haibin and Chen Jiapeng, to compete with the Asian powerhouse Japan team. In the end, the Chinese team won the second place in the group in 38.25 seconds, and the Japanese team won the first place in 38.10 seconds, both advanced to the final and won the ticket to the Paris Olympic Games.
Surprisingly, although Su Bingtian, a Chinese flyer, was included in the list of participants in the relay World Championships, he did not appear in the preliminaries. Su Bingtian is a legend in the history of Chinese sprinting, having run 9.99 seconds in the men's 100m final at the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, becoming the first Asian flyer. Today, the veteran is over 30 years old, but his experience and strength should not be underestimated.
The Chinese team is in the fourth group with the Japanese team, and in addition to the Asian rivals, there are also strong teams from Africa, such as South Africa and Kenya. However, the protagonists of the game are still the Chinese and Japanese teams. Compared with the final of the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, the Chinese team only replaced Chen Guanfeng by Wu Zhiqiang, and the lineup has not changed much. Wu Zhiqiang is a rookie in the Chinese men's 100 meters, with a personal best of 10.17 seconds, and it is worth looking forward to whether he can perfectly connect with Xie Zhenye.
The Japanese team is led by mixed-race flyer Sani Brown, who has a personal best of 10.05 seconds in the 100m. The second runner was Asian flyer Daiki Yanagida, Japan's 100m record holder with a personal best of 9.95 seconds. The third was last year's 200m champion at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Honghui Kamiyama, who won the gold medal in 20.60 seconds at the 22-year-old. The finale was 2002-born Sata Mitsubi, who ran a personal best of 10.24 seconds in the 100m in April this year.
The Sino-Japanese war was about to break out, and with the firing of the preliminaries, the eight flying men rushed out like arrows from the string. The first batter, Sani Brown, played well and narrowly took the lead. The second base, Yanagida Daiki and Xie Zhenye staged a duel in the corner, and the two chased after me, on par. The third baton contest was even more stalemate, and Yan Haibin struggled to catch up with Shangshan Honghui and narrow the gap. At the critical moment, Chen Jiapeng took over the baton from Yan Haibin, but at this time he was about three positions behind the three-wheeled Sa Tai.
Chen Jiapeng is the ace of the Chinese team this year, and only broke his personal best to 10.08 seconds in April. In the face of the three-wheeled Sa Tai, Chen Jiapeng burst out with all his strength and chased frantically in the last 100 meters. However, Sanwa Sata was also not to be outdone, and with a 100-meter strength of 10.24 seconds, he finally crossed the finish line first.
Although Chen Jiapeng failed to stage a shocking reversal, the Chinese team's time of 38.25 seconds has reached the final level, and it also created the best time of the Chinese team this season. It is worth mentioning that the average age of this Chinese team is less than 24 years old, and their competitive form is at its peak, and the future is promising.
Behind the relay battle between China and Japan is the pinnacle showdown between two Asian speed powers. China and Japan, separated by a strip of water, have been in confrontation in the field of sports for a long time. In the 80s of the last century, sports exchanges between China and Japan became more and more frequent, and the two sides competed fiercely in table tennis, gymnastics and other events, giving birth to a large number of world champions. Today, the rivalry between China and Japan has long since spread from the stadium to the athletic field.
In recent years, the rise of sprinting in Japan has been rapid. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Kiryu Shohide won the bronze medal in the 100m with a time of 9.98 seconds, breaking the Asian record held by Su Bingtian. Since then, the Japanese have achieved many great results in major competitions, which can be called a new benchmark for speed in Asia. And Chinese sprinting has not lagged behind, Su Bingtian, Xie Zhenye and other famous players have repeatedly achieved good results and emerged in the world championships. At the Tokyo Olympics, Xie Zhenye and Su Bingtian won the fourth and sixth places in the 100 meters respectively, creating the best Chinese sprint in the Olympic arena.
The sprint competition between China and Japan is not only a competition of individual athletes, but also reflects the differences between the two countries in terms of sports training systems. Japanese sprinters, who come from companies and universities, often combine their studies and training, and show the spirit of bushido on the field. Chinese sprinting, on the other hand, implements a national system, in which athletes enter professional teams from an early age and receive systematic training. There are pros and cons to both models, but they all have the same goal: to defend national honor on the international stage.
Now, the sprints between China and Japan are ushering in a critical period of replacement between the old and the new. Although famous players such as Su Bingtian and Kiryu Shohide have passed the age, their competitive form is still at its peak. At the same time, new stars such as Chen Jiapeng and Sanwa Sata are growing rapidly, and they are eager to show their skills at the Paris Olympics and win glory for their country. This kind of intergenerational blending makes the future of China-Japan sprinting full of infinite possibilities.
The relay showdown between China and Japan is not only a collision of speed and passion, but also a grand event of Asian track and field. It has witnessed countless moments of struggle and condensed the sweat and tears of Chinese and Japanese athletes. On the field, Chinese and Japanese players are rivals, but also friends. They aim for each other, promote each other, and improve together. It is in this kind of healthy competition that Asian Sprint can continue to break through the limits and write new glories.
Looking to the future, the China-Japan Sprint will surely continue to write a new chapter. With high morale and excellent strength, the Chinese flyers are attacking a higher stage. And the Japanese athletes are constantly reinventing themselves and striving to shine in the Olympic arena. It is foreseeable that in the near future, China and Japan will go hand in hand to create a new legend of Asian speed!
Although the two teams of China and Japan showed their talents in the preliminary round, the real battle is still in the final tomorrow. At that time, Su Bingtian is likely to come off the bench, and his addition will undoubtedly greatly enhance the strength of the Chinese team. This Asian sprint pinnacle showdown, the outcome is unpredictable, let's wait and see!
On the track of the Paris Olympics, whether the Chinese flyers will be able to win gold and silver and break the Asian record? It is foreseeable that the competition between China and Japan in the sprint event will intensify, and both teams are preparing for the Paris Olympics. Chinese sprinting is ushering in a new golden generation, and this young and promising team may open a new chapter in China's speed.