The US women's 4x100 meter relay team appealed their disqualification from the race and won the chance to run again, thus entering the final, bumping out the Chinese team that had originally qualified for the final in eighth place.

The US team argued that they were impeded by a Brazilian sprinter before a handover, and were granted a second chance to race alone on an otherwise empty track - a rarely seen event.

China's appeal against this arrangement was rejected.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has the final say. Even though the decision is problematic, we cannot confront it. The Chinese team said it would respect the IAAF's final decision and will not do anything they are not entitled to.

However, the Chinese public can loudly express their dissatisfaction with the IAAF. This decision is not reasonable, and even odd. Even the Americans told the media that the US team being allowed to race alone was surprising.

The IAAF appeared to be leaning toward the US as perhaps it was worried that a final without one of the world's top teams would not be a good show.

Everyone knows that US sprinters are great. But that does not mean they can easily grab gold medals - look at the men's 100-meter and 200-meter races.

The 4x100 relay also requires seamless cooperation and good luck not to drop the baton. Even the most fancied teams have often bungled their baton exchanges in an Olympic race. The fans of every team must nervously pray that their team will not lose their grip on the baton. This is also the special lure and fascination of this sport.

It is normal that sprinters of different teams collide in a race. It is up to the referees to decide which has violated the rules.

Athletes often drop the baton on the tracks during an Olympic race, but it is up to them to pick it up and finish, and by doing so they will win applause for their "Olympic spirit."

But the US team seems so special that even the IAAF did them a favor and arranged a solo re-run for them. This has gone beyond the imagination of the world.

There is no need for the Chinese public to get really angry or relate this to some imagined conspiracy. The surprising arrangement has added some entertainment to the Rio Olympic Games. And that's it.

This may become the most famous baton drop in Olympic history, as the US team got a re-run. But even if the team eventually wins gold, the medal will be tainted. It is a medal they will pick up after having dropped it. And the IAAF may have just handed the medal straight to the Americans.