China picks young children (4 years old) to become experts in music, the arts, dance, and sports. It is difficult for any other country to match that, particularly in democracies where parents seek a closer contact with their children.
I don't know how Japanese athletes are prepared, but I believe the Chinese are the most extreme in the world. It would be interesting to see how Chinese athletes do when their competitive careers have ended. Probably they will spend the rest of their lives instructing.
The Chinese government supports all of this. I doubt any other government in the world provides financial assistance to athletes from the age of four until they die of old age. With that kind of lifetime support, it must be really difficult to compete with them.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Romania also did this. After a medal drought, Russia and Romania are reinvesting in their sports programs in an effort to reclaim their former grandeur, particularly in Russia.
Everyone should get used to China winning gold in almost every Olympic sport. Because their athletes are completely supported by the government, they may spend every day getting paid to perform rather than wasting time attempting to find financial assistance for training. According to an interview with a female Chinese gymnast, the government provided them with a home, food, and financial assistance for their entire family. If she didn't do well, she risked losing everything for her family. That's a terrific incentive, but it's also a little unfair to those who have to fight their way to the Olympics.
That is precisely why our excessively overpaid millionaires are on our basketball team. Because the Olympics are just for amateurs, we have consistently ranked low in basketball. However, somewhere back (was it the 1980s? When was the Dream Team?) the USOC successfully contended that the other countries' Olympic teams were the equivalent of our professional teams in the sense that they were paid to play basketball, making them ipso facto professional. This allowed our professional players to join the team, and we began to exhibit
It wasn't that long ago that if an American athlete earned a cent in a sport, his or her amateur status was terminated and eligibility for Olympic competition was lost.
They work hard because they are honored to have been chosen by the government to train and compete on behalf of China. They do not want to shame themselves or their families by failing to compete successfully.
I don't know how Japanese athletes are prepared, but I believe the Chinese are the most extreme in the world. It would be interesting to see how Chinese athletes do when their competitive careers have ended. Probably they will spend the rest of their lives instructing.
The Chinese government supports all of this. I doubt any other government in the world provides financial assistance to athletes from the age of four until they die of old age. With that kind of lifetime support, it must be really difficult to compete with them.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Romania also did this. After a medal drought, Russia and Romania are reinvesting in their sports programs in an effort to reclaim their former grandeur, particularly in Russia.
Everyone should get used to China winning gold in almost every Olympic sport. Because their athletes are completely supported by the government, they may spend every day getting paid to perform rather than wasting time attempting to find financial assistance for training. According to an interview with a female Chinese gymnast, the government provided them with a home, food, and financial assistance for their entire family. If she didn't do well, she risked losing everything for her family. That's a terrific incentive, but it's also a little unfair to those who have to fight their way to the Olympics.
That is precisely why our excessively overpaid millionaires are on our basketball team. Because the Olympics are just for amateurs, we have consistently ranked low in basketball. However, somewhere back (was it the 1980s? When was the Dream Team?) the USOC successfully contended that the other countries' Olympic teams were the equivalent of our professional teams in the sense that they were paid to play basketball, making them ipso facto professional. This allowed our professional players to join the team, and we began to exhibit
It wasn't that long ago that if an American athlete earned a cent in a sport, his or her amateur status was terminated and eligibility for Olympic competition was lost.
They work hard because they are honored to have been chosen by the government to train and compete on behalf of China. They do not want to shame themselves or their families by failing to compete successfully.
