China pump billions into producing golden generation of Olympians

The secret of China's Olympic success can be revealed: Money. And lots of it. There is no magic formula beyond big numbers.

Moulding them early: Chinese children practise their discipline from a young age at sports schools. Photo: Reuters

China has thrown millions of people and billions of dollars at producing a golden generation of Olympians.

Athletes are fed into an elite tier from specialist sports schools across the country, where children as young as six spend five hours a day perfecting their chosen disciplines. Every last child believes he or she is furthering the cause of China by excelling individually.

The model contrasts sharply with the British experience where sport is an informal business. In China it is strategic funded jointly by state and private cash. It is rare, for example, to see children playing football or any other sport in public spaces outside a club environment.

Athletes train in well-equipped, high-tech facilities, re-inforced by a dedicated support staff of coaches, medics and nutritionists. China will finish these Games with more than 50 gold medals, almost double that of the traditional standard bearer, the United States.

From table tennis to badminton, diving to gymnastics, excellence is fostered at key centres across this vast nation. Think cycling in Britain and multiply the effect across a range of Olympic disciplines.

Duoba, in central China, is said to be one of the finest high altitude training bases in the world. Formerly a huge military warehousing complex, the site was acquired by the Qinghai sports authority in 1982. More than £150 million was spent over the next 20 transforming it into a frontline facility for a raft of sports, including martial arts, swimming, shooting and athletics.

Qiandao Lake in eastern China was identified eight years ago as an ideal site to develop the national rowing facility ahead of the Athens Olympics. The Zhejiang Sports Bureau poured £4 million into the venture turning it into world class canoeing and rowing venue.

In Lin Dan, China has best badminton player on earth. Every trick he pulled to land Olympic gold in Beijing was learned at the Jinjiang Sports Complex in Fujan Province. The facility was built in 2002 with money from ex-pat Chinese, when badminton was on the floor in the country. Since then they have won world titles in men's and women's singles and women's doubles. The players benefit from the unique practice of training in a pool full of a quartz sand. It helps improve movement and flexibility, apparently.

China pumped £50 million into a new football facility in Hongta, Yunnan Province. Completed in 2001 it boasts 11 full size pitches plus four indoor sports halls and is the base used by the national team.

It is the same story in Zhangzhou, the volleyball base, Zhengding, the centre of excellence for table tennis, and Jiangmen, the national tennis centre, about to acquire 12 new courts.

Set in this context, taking account of how the global sporting deck is stacked, Britain's performance at these Games is a miracle.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2590136/China-pump-billions-into-producing-golden-generation-of-Olympians---Beijing-Games.html