On the evening of March 23(Beijing time), during the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25, the men’s 4×400m Relay saw intense competition. The USA team emerged victorious with a time of 3:03.13, while Jamaica took second place with 3:05.05, and Hungary finished third with 3:06.03. The Chinese team, composed of ZHENG Chiyu, ZHANG Qining, XU Xinlong, and JU Tianqi, set a new national record with a time of 3:06.90, finishing in fourth place.

The USA team had an impressive lineup, featuring the top three finishers from the men’s 400m event earlier in the competition. Christopher Bailey, who won the 400m title with a time of 45.08 seconds, ran the final leg for the relay. The USA team quickly pulled ahead after the start, and with a strong acceleration on the curve, they cemented their lead. ZHANG Qining of China, running the second leg, briefly overtook Hungary to move into third place but was unable to hold onto the lead. Despite not securing a podium finish, the Chinese team broke the national record.

Christopher Bailey shared his excitement about the victory: “It feels amazing. We are all fortunate to win again. I want to especially thank my teammates and our competitors. Intense competition helps bring out the best in us. I want to show respect to everyone involved.”He also spoke about his impression of Nanjing: “I haven’t had time to explore yet, but this city has surprised me in many ways. If I get another chance, I’d love to explore more.”

ZHENG Chiyu, the first runner of the Chinese team, said, “We aimed for third place, but I didn’t give the best start. However, breaking the national record is still a great achievement.” ZHANG Qining reflected, “This is my first time competing at a world-class event, and I think the result is very good.”XU Xinlong expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance: “We all did perfectly, and breaking the national record was something we expected.”JU Tianqi, the anchor leg runner, acknowledged the challenges: “I couldn’t maintain the advantage against Hungary’s final runner, but the strength gap was there. It’s a bit of a regret that we didn’t make the podium, but we’ll aim for a better result in future races.”

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