Why China win so many gold medals - from the horses mouth....

While stuffing my face with noodles tonight (the words 'fat bastard' spring to mind) I was talking to a rather intelligent local about the Olympics etc, and naturally conversation turned to Ye Shiwen, the young Chinese swimmer who totally smashed the world record a few days ago. To be blunt, her performance was so incredible, lots of people (in the West) were less than subtle in quickly suggesting she may be getting an energy boost from something other than lots of fruit & veg....

 

My drinking partner (ok - so we had a beer as well as the noodles - in for a penny & a fat belly, in for a pound and a BIG fat belly) was very balanced in his general conversation (and wasn't always pro-China at all) but felt strongly that the 'West' should look a litle more inwardly about sports performance & attitude to training. He simply said that Chinese athletes are under such intense pressure to perform that winning anything less than a gold medal was seen as failure - they would let themselves, their families and their fellow countrymen down. For MONTHS at a time, they would be isolated from their families - even kids - and be totally, TOTALLY focused on winning - way beyond what we think our own athlete's own commitment. He added that these athletes see competing not only as a duty to their country and relatives, but as an opportunity to have a different life - so instead of earning 10 RMB a day (£1) victory would literally change their lives. All in all, the focus, commitment & desire to win (and the pressure from all angles, self inflicted and external) made their guys simply better. No offense intended, just better because of all these factors.

 

People here are pissed that the West always assume that anyone that's better than them have cheated (or cheated better than they have!) - the arrogance that I think we often do display, even in politics and world affairs (where we'll even invade a country because we think we know best). He was 110% certain any amount of drug tests would reveal nothing - that the girl was simply better thn the other swimmers. "Why can' you just accept that?"

 

I paid for his noodles and beer and shook his hand. And I apologised.