OLYMPICS / ATHLETES' BLOGS

Mo Huilan: To talk about my little sisters

Sohu.com
Updated: 2008-08-04 11:07

 

(July 29,2008)

The list was been issued several days ago. These six beautiful girls will represent the Chinese women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympic Games. Carrying with them the dream's and hope's of several generations of Chinese gymnasts and surely more admiration from others, myself included. Of the six only Cheng Fei has previously competed in an Oylmpics, the other five girls, Jiang Yuyuan, He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Li Shanshan and Deng Linlin are debutants.

Nevertheless, this team is arguably the strongest team in Chinese gymnastic history. The Chinese gymnastic team has always had advantage on the uneven bars because there is limited space between the two bars and Chinese girls have smaller figures. What's more, floor exercises and the vault will rely on World champion Cheng Fei, if Jiang Yuyuan can keep calm and compete at her normal level on balance beam, this team will have 60 to 70 percent chance of beating the American women's team.

Many people ask me what will be the highlight of Chinese gymnasic team and how many gold medals they will get. Speaking on gold medals, Cheng Fei can almost certainly get one for her ability and experience. For the team, it will be a little more difficult but still not beyond their ability. For people in the gymnastics circle, what they may emphasize is not only the result, but also the performance of individual athletes. Medal list are only a final report on the results. Therefore,we should enjoy the beauty of the gymnastic performances.

The Qualification Competition is the first and most important competition as the results directly relate to the qualification for the Individual All-Around Finals. Meanwhile, it will greatly effect athletes' psychological condition. Having a good begin is halfway to winning. The contest begins at the Qualification Competition, so ,my dear sisters, you must pay your utmost attention from the beginning! The stronger you are at the beginning, the more stressed your opponent will be. It's always like that, the strong part will become stronger, the weak weaker.

In addition, new rules are to be adopted in this Olympics, the 6-3-3 format. Three athletes will compete each time and each individual's performance will influence the whole team to a high degree. In the same way the change of rules in table tennis have influenced the game, the new rules will bring new variability. Although we are strong enough, I still pray that everything will go well and I wish the girls the last laugh and best performance.

Introduction of Mo Huilan

Mo Huilan, a former top gymnast, got five gold medals -the team competition, balance beam, floor exercises, vault and uneven bars- in The 12th Asian Games, October, 1994 and a silver medal in 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games held in Hiroshima in Japan.

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