Su Bingtian (left) and Xie Zhenye compete in the men's 4x100 meters semifinals on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

China's women's and men's 4x100 meters relay squads made it to the finals at Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.

It is the first time that both the men's and women's quartets of China advance into the final at the same Olympic Games.

China's women's team finished third in the heat as Liang Xiaojing, Ge Manqi, Huang Guifen and Wei Yongli combined for a 42.82 seconds, qualifying to the final after 21 years of waiting since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

"We were in good form today," said veteran Wei. "After suffering setback at Rio 2016, we were so happy that we realized our dreams."

Men's 100-meter finalist Su Bingtian led the men's 4x100 meters squad with Xie Zhenye, Tang Xingqiang and Wu Zhiqiang. They won the heat at 37.92 seconds, second best among the eight finalists, only behind Jamaica.

"We aimed to break the ­national record in the final," said Asian record holder Su.

The United States men, who once dominated the 4x100 meters, failed to qualify for the final despite having two individual 100 meters finalists on the team. A ragged run, with poor changeovers and a shocking second handover, dragged them to a desultory sixth in their semifinal.