High jumper Zhang Guowei clinches national title but misses record

China's promising high jumper Zhang Guowei prevailed in the National Championships here on Monday despite failing to break the long-standing national record.

Zhang effectively clinched the title with a first time clearance at 2.31 meters before he failed to jump over 2.35m in the first attempt. He then called for 2.40m, a new national record if he would clear, but failed in the two efforts remaining.

"I was not excited enough as it was too cold and the track is bit slippery after the rain," said Zhang afterwards on a cool night with a temperature of 19 degree centigrade.

The 24-year-old had tried to break the national mark of 2.39m, set by legend Zhu Jianhua in 1984, when he secured the gold medal with 2.34m at the IAAF World Challenge meet on May 20 at the Bird's Nest Stadium.

Zhang, who set a personal best of 2.38m at the IAAF Diamond League Eugene meet on May 30, was expected to end China's medal drought in men's high jump at the World Championships in Beijing this August.

"My aim at the worlds is to improve my personal record," said Zhang, ranked second on the world list this season. "It is my dream to jump over 2.40m, and I think it is a matter of time for me to make it come true."

In the men's 4x100m relay race, the national quartet of Mo Youxue, Xie Zhenye, Su Bingtian and Zhang Peimeng clocked 38.61 seconds to lead the preliminaries but withdrew from the final.

The Chinese sprinters smashed the previous Asian record of 38.03 seconds in the Asian Games last September in Incheon, South Korea, by finishing first in 37.99 seconds.

As Chen Shiwei, the lead-off man then, had been suffering from injuries since the winter training camp, the 19-year-old Mo Youxue became one of the competitors for the position.

According to Su, the first Asian-born to officially beat the 10.00 seconds barrier in the men's 100m event, the Chinese team had a good chance to "create miracles" in the upcoming worlds.

"I hope in this year's World Championships, I can work some miracles for my country in 100m and 4x100m relay," said Su after finishing a historical race in 9.99 seconds at the earlier Eugene meet.

The National Championships which concluded on Monday also serves as a test event for the August 22-30 World Championships. Endi