Olympics

All in the Games

By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-01 08:30

Top: Chinese delegates applaud on July 13, 2001 after Beijing wins the bid to host the 2008 Olympics. Above: Li Xiaopeng of China reacts after his routine in the gymnastics men's parallel bars final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Aug 19, 2008. Top: Zhao Yingxin / Xinhua; above: Guan Xin / China Daily

If you ask any Chinese person what their nation's proudest sporting achievement has been over the past 30 years, Olympic success will be the most likely answer. Ever since Chinese athletes marched into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Games to make their Olympic debut, China has been going all out in an effort to reach new milestones on the world's premier sporting stage. China's passion for glory and improvement reflects the official Olympic motto: Swifter, Higher and Stronger. Never has a society attached so much ambition, desire and identity to the Olympics as the Chinese, commented NBC anchor Jim Lampley in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Although China's first world title dates back to 1961, when table tennis player Rong Guotuan won the men's singles event at the World Championships, it is the Olympic Games that best showcase the nation's international sporting success.

After joining the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1979, China opted for full-scale participation in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

China Daily, which had only been established three years before, sent reporter Jiang Weiliang to cover this historical event and he had a lot to write about.

China concluded the event with a stunning harvest of 15 gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals and sharpshooter Xu Haifeng, in the men's pistol event, had the honor of winning the nation's first Olympic gold medal.

The team's performance catapulted the country to fourth position in the medal tally behind the United States, Romania and the then West Germany.

Although this success was achieved in the absence of the Soviet Union and its ally nations, which boycotted the Games, it was a significant beginning and gave birth to a new Olympic spirit and ambition in China.

But dreams of Olympic glory were short lived. At the 1988 Seoul Games, China unexpectedly brought home only five gold medals - a third of the 1984 harvest and slumped to 11th place on the medal tally, its worst Olympic rankings.

After a period of tough soul-searching and rebuilding, China made a strong comeback at the 1992 Barcelona Games, garnering 16 gold medals to go with its 22 silver and 16 bronze ranking fourth behind the United Team from the former Soviet Union, the United States and Germany.

China Daily reporter Yang Xinwei was lucky enough to be a witness to this successful comeback.

China's Olympic ambition was not limited to medal-winning achievements and for many years the world's most populous nation dreamed of the honor of hosting the event in the same way its Asian neighbors Japan and South Korea had done.

In 1990, Beijing hosted a successful Asian Games which ignited nationwide enthusiasm and backing for it 2000 Summer Olympics bid.

In 1993, China's first Olympic bid failed when Beijing lost to Sydney by two votes during the IOC's session in Monte Carlo and the result sent the nation into an emotional abyss, but despite the setback the nation's Olympic ambitions never waned.

Two years later, China's sports ministry launched a landmark program called Olympic Glory, in which competitors received solid government backing through funding, new training facilities and support teams.

As incentives, the athletes were promised rewards if they won Olympic medals.

The program was indeed a key factor in boosting sporting capabilities and in 1996 it helped China maintain its fourth place at the Atlanta Games where it won 16 gold.

Atlanta was also a milestone for China Daily, which sent its first female reporter, Liu Xiaomei, to cover an Olympics.

Down under at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, China achieved yet another breakthrough by boosting its ranking to third as it pocketed 28 gold medals plus 16 silver and 15 bronze medals. Only the United States and Russia were able to do better.

Since the launch of the Olympic Glory program, Chinese athletics have made tremendous achievements in significant sporting events like the Olympic Games, winning glory for the nation, China's sports minister Liu Peng said.

In 2001, China was on its way of fulfilling its century-old dream of hosting the Olympic Games when Beijing defeated other candidates during the IOC session in Moscow.

A 10-year program (2001-2010) called 2008 Olympic Glory was immediately implemented and propelled Chinese sports development on a fast track to success.

During the 2004 Athens Games, China won a record 32 gold medals, lifting itself up one spot in the standings behind the US.

More significantly, Chinese athletes began winning gold medals in a wider range of sporting events.

Liu Xiang won the men's 110m hurdles, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian scored the women's tennis doubles title, Wang Xu was victorious in the women's freestyle wrestling event and Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun grabbed gold in canoeing.

The success of the 2008 Olympic Games lifted China's sporting achievements to new heights, sports minister Liu Peng said.

At the same time, the Beijing Games had the largest television audience in Olympic history and China's efforts in hosting the Games won worldwide recognition.

The 2008 Olympic Games signify a quicker pace for China to merge into the world, said He Zhenliang, former IOC vice-president and member of the executive board.

In turn, the world knows China much better.

Now China is going all out seeking for a stunning performance at the 2012 London Olympics.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page61)