Su Bingtian bids emotional farewell in final race as Hubei win men's 4x100m relay at China's National Games

China's sprint legend Su Bingtian brought the curtain down on his 21-year career on Thursday, finishing fourth with his Guangdong teammates in the men's 4x100m relay — a race won by the Hubei team in 38.60 seconds.

Competing in the last official race of his career, Su teamed up with Liu Hongxi, Shi Junhao, and Chen Guanfeng to represent Guangdong. At the start of the race, Su ranked fourth in terms of starting reaction time, but a baton-passing error occurred between him and Liu, causing Guangdong to fall behind. Despite the all-out efforts of Shi and Chen to catch up in the third and fourth legs, Guangdong still finished fourth with a time of 38.71 seconds, just 0.03 seconds out of a spot on the podium. The Hubei team, led by newly crowned 100 champion Li Zeyang, claimed the gold. 

After the race, the 36-year-old officially bid farewell to the track and to everyone.

"Although I said goodbye today, I won't leave the track that I love." said Su, "I hope I can create dreams in track & field for my country and the young racers. I expect that short distance runners can show their best performances in international races from generation to generation. Thank you."

Su's career was defined by historic milestones. It began in 2012 when he became the first Chinese sprinter to reach an Olympic 100m semifinal in London. Three years later, he shattered a continental barrier by running 9.99 seconds at the Diamond League in Eugene, becoming the first Asian-born athlete to break the 10-second mark. 

The years that followed saw him dominate the continental scene, setting multiple Asian records in the 60m, winning a World Indoor Championships silver medal, and capturing the Asian Games 100m title in a record 9.92 seconds. The pinnacle of his career arrived at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021: a stunning 9.83-second sprint that made him the first Chinese man to reach an Olympic 100m final, after which he contributed to China's bronze medal win in the 4x100m relay.