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China's star relay team keep low key for Rio Olympics

Xinhua, May 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

China's world silver medal winning relay team put their feet down and set a goal of entering last eight at the Rio Olympic Games.

The Chinese men's 4x100m relay team made history at last year's Beijing athletics world championships as Zhang Peimeng, Su Bingtian, Xie Zhenye and Mo Youxue finished behind the world and Olympic champions Jamaican team to clinch a silver.

As the Rio Olympic Games draws close, expectation has been high on the "Fantastic Four" .

However, Zhang Peimeng believed they need to be realistic.

"It was truly an amazing miracle winning the silver at Beijing worlds last years," said Zhang, 29, at the new conference Friday before the Shanghai Diamond League. "We had worked hard for it and were quite competitive in the field. But at the same time, luck also played a big part in it as the American team was disqualified."

The U.S. team originally passed the finish line behind Jamaica but was disqualified for an foul baton exchange, lifting China to the second place.

Zhang said the team set this year's goal in Rio on entering the final.

"If we run well, we can make it to the last eight. We don't want to think about it and just focus on how to improve ourselves," he said.

Shanghai Diamond League takes place on Saturday with 16 titles up for grabs.

Last year's Diamond League winner Justin Gatlin of the United States returns to China to take on U.S. compatriot and world finalist Mike Rodgers in the men's 100m.

Men's 800m world record holder David Rudisha also returns to China to make his Shanghai Diamond League debut just nine months after recapturing his world crown in Beijing.

World pole vault record holder Renaud Lavillenie launches his bid for an unprecedented seventh Diamond Race victory after winning his second world indoor crown in Portland two months ago with a championship record of 6.02m.

In the women's field, two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown lines up against a trio of Americans as she returns to Shanghai just 12 months after being beaten here by Nigeria's multi-talented Blessing Okagbare over 100m. Endit