China's Zhu Yaming celebrates after winning silver in the men's triple jump final during the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, August 5, 2021. /CFP
Chinese veteran Zhu Yaming displayed a breathtaking performance to take a historic silver medal in men's triple jump at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Thursday. The 27-year-old Asian champion scored a personal best of 17.57 meters in his fifth jump, which earned him the silver. He became the first Chinese ever to win an Olympic silver in men's triple jump event.
Portugal's Pedro Pichardo won the event with a national record of 17.98m, while Burkina Faso's Hugues Zango took the bronze, his country first ever Olympic medal, after jumping to 17.47m. Zhu's compatriot Fang Yaoqing finished eighth with 17.01m.
Zhang has continued China's stunning progress in the triple jump at Olympic Games. In Rio 2016, Dong Bin became China's first ever Olympic triple jump medalist after beating the odds to clinch the bronze.
China's triple jumper Zhu Yaming gives a thumbs-up during the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, August 5, 2021. /CFP
Team China also recorded an impressive men's 4x100m relay heat after Su Bingtian, Tang Xingqiang, Xie Zhenye and Wu Zhiqiang finished best out of their heat in a time of 37.92 seconds. Jamaica came out top in the other heat in 37.82 seconds. Also qualified for the final were Canada, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Ghana and hosts Japan.
World champion the U.S. from Doha 2019, suffered a huge blow after finishing sixth in their men's 4x100m relay heat, which marked the first time an American 4x100m squad has failed to make the Olympic final from a completed heat, according to ESPN.
The upset has sent shockwaves through the sporting world, with American sprinting legend Carl Lewis launching fierce attacks on the latest American fiasco.
China's Su Bingtian during the men's 4x100m relay heat at the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, August 5, 2021. /CFP
"The USA team did everything wrong in the men's relay," the nine-time Olympic champion said on Twitter. "The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership."
"It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] kids I saw."
In women's 4x100m relay heats, Team China also qualified for the final after finishing third in their heat. Ge Manqi, Liang Xiaojing, Huang Guifen and Wei Yongli teamed up to finish the race in 42.82 seconds.
Great Britain were the fastest qualifiers after setting a national record of 41.55 seconds. The U.S., Jamaica, Germany and Switzerland also advanced to Friday's final.