UK: SWIMMING: Chinese swimming team arrive in Leeds for training camp to prepare for London Olympic Games

Record ID: 330842

  • Title: UK: SWIMMING: Chinese swimming team arrive in Leeds for training camp to prepare for London Olympic Games
  • Date: 10th July 2012
  • Summary: POSTERS HANGING FROM CEILING ABOVE POOL WITH DUTCH AND CHINESE FLAGS READING IN ENGLISH: "LEEDS GOLD" POSTER WITH CHINESE FLAG READING IN ENGLISH: "LEEDS GOLD" INSIDE AQUATICS CENTRE VARIOUS OF SWIMMERS PREPARING FOR DIVE / SWIMMERS DIVING SWIMMERS IN POOL HEAD OF CHINESE SWIMMING TEAM YUAN HAORAN TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HEAD OF CHINESE SWIMMING TEAM, YUAN HAORAN, SAYING: "Leeds is a very beautiful city. It's my second time here. The first time was in March we came to check out the facilities after a test event in the UK, and my first impression was wow, what a pretty little city with a beautiful aquatic centre." VARIOUS OF SWIMMERS TRAINING COACH RESTING FOOT ON STARTING BLOCK / SWIMMER IN POOL SWIMMER IN POOL (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HEAD OF CHINESE SWIMMING TEAM, YUAN HAORAN, SAYING: "Because this time we have 51 athletes qualified in the swimming events, and it's not just us who have chosen to train in Leeds. From what we understand the Dutch team has also chosen Leeds, and they'll be training here next week. This way if both national teams train in the same pool it may get a bit crowded, so we've split up our team into two groups. One group is training here, and another is training in Bath." VARIOUS OF SWIMMERS IN POOL (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HEAD OF CHINESE SWIMMING TEAM, YUAN HAORAN, SAYING: "Right now the event we have the most advantage in is the men's 1500m freestyle, because Sun Yang is this event's world record holder and came first in 2011's World Championships, so we hope he'll also do well at the London Olympics." SWIMMER TRAINING IN POOL (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, HAO QIANG, SAYING: "Before this (training camp) they had sent two chefs (to China) to learn about our cooking, and we also sent our own chef here. Now the food consists of an abundant selection of Western, European and traditional Chinese dishes." SWIMMERS TRAINING IN AQUATIC CENTRE
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA82O6I9STNWAUPWU97Y7595O12
  • Story Text: The Chinese swimming team arrived in Leeds in northern England on Saturday (July 7) for a training camp to prepare for what they hope will be a splendid performance at the London Olympic Games.
    More than 200 Chinese athletes from eight teams - table tennis, taekwondo, fencing, swimming, track and field, boxing, women's field hockey and canoe slalom - and up to 50 officials are expected to join the Leeds training camp over the next few weeks.
    Officials said they were impressed by the beauty of Leeds - the third largest city in the United Kingdom after London and Birmingham -- which persuaded them to select it as the official European headquarters for the Chinese Olympic team.
    "Leeds is a very beautiful city. It's my second time here. The first time was in March we came to check out the facilities after a test event in the UK, and my first impression was wow, what a pretty little city with a beautiful aquatic centre," said Yuan Haoran, the head of Chinese swimming team in Leeds.
    But Leeds' aquatic centre also caught the eye of the Dutch team, so China decided to send some of its swimmers to train in Bath to avoid overcrowding.
    "Because this time we have 51 athletes qualified in the swimming events, and it's not just us who have chosen to train in Leeds. From what we understand the Dutch team has also chosen Leeds, and they'll be training here next week. This way if both national teams train in the same pool it may get a bit crowded, so we've split up our team into two groups. One group is training here, and another is training in Bath," Yuan explained.
    20-year-old swimmer Sun Yang is training in Bath and is China's best hope in the London Olympics.
    "Right now the event we have the most advantage in is the men's 1500m freestyle, because Sun Yang is this event's world record holder and came first in 2011's World Championships, so we hope he'll also do well at the London Olympics," said Yuan.
    Sun's performances at the world championships, where he also won the non-Olympic 800m freestyle title, laid another milestone in China's re-emergence as a swimming power, following a lean period in the wake of doping controversies in the 1990s.
    Sun will compete in his pet 1,500m event and also the 200 and 400m freestyle at the London Aquatics Centre from July 28-August 4, searching for Olympic gold to cap his stunning rise.
    All Chinese teams except the canoe slalom are housed at the University of Leeds, where each athlete is provided a bedroom with a double bed and ensuite.
    The University has also worked closely with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) to develop menu to suit all athletes.
    "Before this (training camp) they had sent two chefs (to China) to learn about our cooking, and we also sent our own chef here. Now the food consists of an abundant selection of Western, European and traditional Chinese dishes," said Hao Qiang from COC.
    The Chinese swim team hopes a first-class training facility will lead to exceptional results in London. China's resurgence started in earnest at the Beijing Olympics, with gold to Liu Zige in the women's 200m butterfly and a clutch of minor medals dominated by her female team mates.
    The men have been slower to make an impression, and prior to Sun's performances in Shanghai only Zhang Lin had clinched a world title, in the 800 freestyle in Rome in 2009.
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