LONDON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Two years after notching a surprise silver medal at the Beijing World Championships, the Chinese men's 4x100 meters relay team are ready to vie for a back-to-back podium finish at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.
"We stand a good chance of setting a new national record here in London," said Zhang Peimeng, who runs the anchor leg for China. "Our second leg and third leg- Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye, are both in their best form this season. If the starting leg Wu Zhiqiang and I can sprint to our best level, a new national record is possible."
The quartet have already proven their worth at the IAAF Diamond League in Monaco two weeks ago when they registered a winning time of 38.19 seconds, 0.37 seconds shy of the national record set by Su, Xie, Zhang and Tang Xingqiang as the first baton at the Olympic Games in Rio last summer.
"We won a history-making silver medal two years ago in Beijing. But we know it will be quite hard to make a further breakthrough in London. So we will be happy to win a medal," Zhang added.
The men's 4x100m event will be contested next Saturday when the Jamaican phenomenon Usain Bolt will run the final race of his trailblazing career.