LONDON, Aug. 12 -- The third leg runner Su Bingtian in China's 4x100m team was hit on the head by Britain's second leg Adam Gemili when the former started off his run, the Chinese athlete said on Saturday at the London World Championships.
Su rubbed his head after he handed the baton to anchor runner Zhang Peimeng who raced across the finish line in fourth while Britain clocked 37.47 seconds to win in a European record time.
The Chinese team have decided not to appeal.
"When I started off, the (British) second leg suddenly gave me a hit because he was cheering for his teammate. At that time, I was just speeding up and it surely would affect my speed," said Su. "I was taken back a little then."
Britain eventually edged the United States for the victory and Japan took bronze.
Aside from the incident, Su said everyone on the team delivered their best performance.
"I think everyone has done a good job. Actually, making regular appearances at top level international competitions already proves our strength," said Su.
"The only thing I feel regretful is that we can't have a better result because this was the last time this team competed together at an international competition."
Longtime anchor runner Zhang will end his career after the world championships and a medal could have been a great gift for his farewell race.
"Our initial goal was to secure a final berth and strive for a medal and I always have believed that we are capable of it," said Zhang, whose team won a silver medal at Beijing world championships two years ago. "I was dreaming of a perfect ending but sadly luck was not on our side."