Is China the team to beat?

Take a look at China’s rising Olympic gold medal count, and you can understand why a senior U.S. Olympics official fielded questions Monday on whether China is the team to beat at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

In 1996, China took home a respectable 16 gold medals in Atlanta. It reaped 28 gold medals in Sydney in 2000, and rose again to 32 gold medals in Athens in 2004.

They’ve doubled the count since 1996. What’ll it be in 2008?

In contrast, the U.S. team took home 44 gold medals in 1996, 39 gold medals in 2000, and 35 gold medals in 2004. You see where that trend line is going, don’t you?

At a ceremony Monday to mark a partnership with Beijing Normal University, which will serve as a training center for U.S. Olympians, USOC secretary general James Scherr noted that the upcoming games will be extremely competitive.

Afterward, Scherr spoke of the “tremendous” resources China in pouring into preparing its team, and added: “We clearly think they will have an exceptionally strong team on the field of play. We’re not sure how we can compete with them on the gold medal count, in terms of where they’re at now and where they might be in 2008.”

Exactly how much China is spending is unclear.

“You can extrapolate across what they’re spending to build out the facilities and venues and infrastructure in the city of Beijing, which by all measures is well in excess of $30 billion. You would assume that they would spend what it takes to be competitive on the field of play.”

“The numbers that we’ve heard that they are putting into the preparation for these games – the number of athletes, the coaches they’ve secured, and the amount they’re putting into performance sciences – is very impressive indeed,” Scherr said.

Comments

[BLABLA]

CINDY IS FALUNGONG MEMBER WHO PROFESSIONALLY ATTACKING CHINA ANY WAY THEY CAN.

[canrun]

@canrun -- Me BS? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

You misread that. It's directed at TS. I AGREE with you...

[cindy]

@ts -- accupuncture

I do not say things unless I know them well. I have had accupuncture treatments since 1993. I supposed long enough, and understand the working of accupunctures well enough, to begin to 'wonder' about accupunctures. To give you one example. I was very sick and was given accupunctures. Not only I felt asleep within minutes while at the clinic, I slept for another straight 15 HOURS after I arrived home.

By the way I am not American, and neither do I approve of ALL things American.

NFL, NHL? Well, depends on how you want to play the games. Why do we have such things that called 'friendly games'? or 'Friendship tours' for example? Nothing is ever black and white. Why do you think China wants to host the 2008 O. Games? Pure ly for the love of sports? I think you are smarter than that to believe it.

@canrun -- Me BS? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

[Chinese-Tools.com]

Is comparing the population really the point?
After Athens 2004 Olympics, Romano Prodi, European Union chief made the count of all EU's country gold medals... more than 300!!!
For a population a little more than the US, but less than half China's.

[canrun]

"cindy, no one forces these kids into a sport training program. Hockey, ice skating, swimming, etc. The kids are begging their parents to do it. In other words, they asked for it."
I call BS. Total BS to what you just said. Parents sacrifice their little ones from a VERY young age here for the glory of "The Motherland." What else are they supposed to do? The State will "take" them anyhow. China apologists. Jeez. What a crew.
Just watch "China Revealed" if you need further proof...
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/atlas/china/china.html?clik=visit_site

[ts]

cindy, no one forces these kids into a sport training program. Hockey, ice skating, swimming, etc. The kids are begging their parents to do it. In other words, they asked for it.

Have you tried accupuncture? How do you know accupuncture can do this do that?

And why do you relate political event to sport event? Do you really think NHL or NFL has something to do with Iraq or the Republicans?

[cindy]

@ts -- political event or sport event ... a nation is made up of different things. One can hardly ever 'divide' and put things into little pockets. Just like drinking a glass of water ... are you able to first drink the 'H2' follows by the O ???

[cindy]

@ts -- 'accupuncture' a drug .. why not? If accupuncture can be used to replace taking medications??? Or using accupunture as 'pain killer' or anethesia during operations ??? It is affecting the behaviour of the body isn't? Or it is not? What you cannot see with your naked eyes do not mean it is not there. What has not been proven by science does not mean it is false???

Rigorous trainng for 5,6 years old kids -- what is right and what is wrong has a lot to do with how open is the society. Just like punishment with spanking. Is it good or is it bad? Has nothing to do with rich kids or poor kids. But a lot to do with kids' right to be kids. No matter which country it is.

@Tim J -- 3rd world yes. Everybody knows that. Compare US vs China ... I think if we are going to be honest with ourselves, we cannot ignore the fact that there are great differences between these countries.

[ts]

cindy, you are talking nonesense here. "accupuncture" a drug? LOL. And what's wrong with putting kids of 5 or 6 into a vigorous sport taining? Is not that aspiration sport (rich) kids doing nowadays in America?

Then you drifted to political attacks - looks like sport event is not really your issue, your issues is with China itself.

-ts

[Tim J]

Well, Cindy, thanks for writing but I have to respectfully disagree about the youngsters being pushed into sports at a young age. I've been to too many ice arenas and sports fields in the U.S. where pushy parents are forcing their kids into competitive sports at a very young age. Moreover, high-level U.S. athletes have tremendous advantages in terms of training facilities, sports medicine and so forth. It's the athletes from the smaller island nations and other Third World countries who are at a true disadvantage.

[cindy]

Why not look at the size of the populations? 1,6 billion vs 500 millions? (I might not be right on the right number), and the former Soviet Union is no longer there ... so what is the problem?? Drug or no drug.

Talking about drug, I have been wondering if accupuncture can be considered as 'drug' since one can use the needles to 'stilmulate' the body functions?

Then we must also wonder "HOW" China prepares her olympians? Would one dare to think 'encouraging' kids of 5,6 years old practicing table tennis, gymnastic 5,6 or more hours a day a NORMAL way of training? One would be put in jail in the civilized world.

Come, let's wake up on this kind of unfair way of comparision.

Furthermore I have yet to see China 'competes' fairly in the world arena. Whether it is sport or commerce. Just like the value of RMB, the value of human lives is of no importance to the Chinese authority as long as it brings back cash and title.

China is still is keeping her citizens stupid. OR at least 1 billion of them. And those that have the advantage, the rich and the educated, most of them are just too busy making a nice life for themselves... and often time sponging on the misery of their fellow countrymen. And by keeping the exchange rate low, that would mean many of the Chinese, holding RMB, would not be able to afford to travel or to send their children abroad to studies. Is that fair?

To allow China to host this event is such hypocracy to the true meaning of the Olympic torch.

[Tim J]

Good points, Xiao Zhu, but I would suggest that there may be very few countries that truly seem to be clean in terms of doping these days. That's why I sometimes like to watch the sports no one cares about, like curling or archery. Those athletes are in it just for the love of the sport.

[Xiao Zhu]

The US will struggle if there is tough controls on drug use. It is hard to believe that Marion Jones went from four golds in Sydney to being a struggler at Athens. I wonder how much of America's invincible image was fake anyway.

[Lillian]

Sorry, I should say "doesn’t have".

[Lillian]

I’m sure China will top the tally in 2008, continuing its upward trend. But that doesn’t make much sense, given the fact that a large number of people are hovering around the poverty line, me included. The games itself doesn’t has much to do with our lives.