Defending champion Gong leads China's athletics squad for Paris 2024

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Women's shot put Olympic champion Gong Lijiao will lead China's athletics squad at the Paris Games, according to the team roster unveiled by the Chinese Athletics Association on Thursday.

35-year-old Gong, who will compete in her fifth Olympic Games in Paris, leads the 54-strong squad - equally split with 27 men and 27 women - with another five alternate athletes in the men's 4x100m relay and race walk events.

The squad also includes women's discus world champion Feng Bin, men's long jump world champion Wang Jianan, women's 20km race walk Olympic gold medalists Liu Hong and Qieyang Shijie, and women's 20km race walk world champion Yang Jiayu.

Liu Shiying, who won the women's javelin gold medal at Tokyo Olympics, was not named in the squad, along with Su Bingtian.

China's star sprinter Su had set an Asian record of 9.83s to reach the men's 100m final in Tokyo three years ago, and also took the bronze medal with the men's 4x100m relay team, but has struggled with injury and fitness in recent months.