Russia and China to join forces against US in Beijing

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_2811052?rss

Taking America down in medals standings
By Bill Briggs
Denver Post Staff Writer

America, enjoy the golden view while you can. Your next stop in the medal count just might be third place after a backroom deal of Olympic proportions.

Russia and China - the most potent Summer Games teams behind the Americans - have formed an unprecedented sporting alliance with brash plans to topple Team USA as the reigning medal monster by 2008.

Under the athletic pact, signed last week during a visit to China by the Russian Olympic Committee, the two nations will share coaches, training secrets and medical advances, according to the Russian newspaper Izvestia daily. Russia and China also plan to split up certain sports, each applying its national muscle against American strongholds.

"(The Chinese) hope that we will take some of the medals in sports that are traditionally considered American, i.e., swimming and track and field," Russian Olympic Committee president Leonid Tyagachev told the newspaper. "They speak openly about it: We cannot give in to the U.S."

The merger will even impact Chinese cheering habits at various Summer Olympic venues in 2008: If a home favorite falters, the Beijing-based fans will be coached to pull for a Russian competitor over any American in the field, Tyagachev said.

As word of the Asian liaison hit the U.S. Olympic headquarters in Colorado Springs on Friday, some sports officials and athletes relished the birth of a fresh rivalry resembling Cold War-era clashes between the Soviet bloc and the Free World. A little on-field friction could bump TV ratings and lure new fans, they said, especially after a decade of American dominance.

"It's good for Olympic sports worldwide," said Steve Roush, chief of sport performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee. "You don't want to see somebody walking over people all the time."

Others within the U.S. Olympic family called the alliance just the latest assault against an unpopular sports superpower - the New York Yankees of Olympic events.

"We recognize that the United States, we're the bad guys. We wear the black hat," said Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming.

"They have been gunning for us for a long time, as long as we've been in the No. 1 spot," said swimmer Gary Hall Jr., a 10-time Olympic medalist.

Tactically, nothing will change inside Team USA's training centers, Roush said. Since the final hours of the Athens Games, American athletes and coaches have been gearing up to meet the swift rise of the Chinese team.

But the pact will sharpen Team USA's focus, maybe add a healthy dose of anger and a thirst for payback, American Olympic officials said.

"I'd like to thank them for providing our athletes and coaches with bulletin-board material for our locker rooms," Wielgus said.
Last summer, China nearly won the gold medal count, finishing with 32 to the Americans' 35. With the 2008 Games on its home soil, China wants to grab 40 gold medals, according to Russian Olympic chief Tyagachev. In the overall Athens medal haul, Team USA nipped Russia 103-92. In Beijing, the Chinese are aiming to win 110. With Chinese and Russian training resources now combined, the Americans view that goal as a true threat.

"We're not going into this with any misconception that it's going to be easy for us to maintain that No. 1 status," Roush said.

The International Olympic Committee is not expected to look critically at the alliance, USOC officials say, because the two nations are merely sharing resources now with plans to compete head-to-head later. Likewise, there are no worries the Russians will back off an event to give the Chinese a better shot at winning gold in front of the home crowds.

"Honestly, when push comes to shove, neither is going to yield to the other one for medals," Roush said. "So when it gets to the field of play in Beijing, they will be as competitive against themselves as we are."

USOC officials could not name a similar instance where sports superpowers from different socio-political camps joined forces to knock off the top dog.

"I don't think I've ever seen anything with the clear vision and admission about what they're after," Roush said. "We knew those two were strategizing, maybe separately, going into Athens. I think our success there might have led them to take a different path and be more collaborative."

Athletes from rival nations often train together because they understand it will give them an extra edge come game day. Hall has logged lap-pool time with South African swimmer Roland Schoeman as well as competitors from Europe and Australia.

"I'm sure with Russia and China embracing that competition, their athletes will see some improvement," Hall said. "But they might see a lot more improvement if they worked with the United States."

[LHSpolevault]

correct me if i'm wrong...


so russia's and china's medal counts will be combined? <---if i understand correctly, that = mucho mucho lame-o

[rainbowgirl28]

correct me if i'm wrong...


so russia's and china's medal counts will be combined? <---if i understand correctly, that = mucho mucho lame-o

No they will not be combined.

It just sounds like they are going to train together more, and cheer for the other country in events that they do not have a chance in.

[CHC04Vault]

Pretty much isnt the olympics the world vs. the US??? I find it kinda stupid honestly, because if the US did the same thing, there would be an uproar. Besides, most of the Chinese medals came from stupid "sports" neways, like rythmic gymnastics. The article fails to comment on how the IOC is try to eliminate some of the "sports" in the olympics and add others. Most of the sports that would get the boot...are thing the US dosnt care about neways...yeay sychronized swimming and table tennis

[bjvando]

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_2811052?rss



"I'm sure with Russia and China embracing that competition, their athletes will see some improvement," Hall said. "But they might see a lot more improvement if they worked with the United States."

SLAM!!!!

I honestly don't see how this could work.... Sure there is a chance, and for the U.S. to continue their 'domination' isn't easy. BUT they havent been able to touch us...

and if i may..... " blind leading the blind....." ?

[SkyHigh21]

There is almost a feeling of malace toward US athletics by China. While in Grosetto for the world junior games team USA was hardly recognised by the chinese team. THey hardly even looked at us, and god forbid if we beat one of their athletes.
Why cant they just learn from their mistakes and train harder than trying to create a secret "quick fix" with the russians. (Bejing is going to feel like a return to the cold war for our athletes, this is not good)

[CHC04Vault]

Almost...there is. The Chinese hate 2 people equally, the US and Japan. It seems the Chinese government is using Beijing as a soap box to show the world that Communism is the best form of government. Funny how they team up with a country that is a former Communist (and some can argue is trying to go back to) nation and a quasi/fully communist nation. What eve happened to the Olympics being a non-political statement...thats out like the fat kid in dodge ball.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUi ... 5_19_38_20

Craig Masback, CEO, USA Track & Field -- Question & Answers

Following USATF CEO Craig Masback's State of the Sport Address on Saturday at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships presented by Visa, there was a question and answer session with the media. Excerpts follow.

Q: How do you feel about China and Russia combining forces to be more competitive in track & field?

A: We just have to do what we do better. One of the benefits of being financially solvent, which we now have been over the last several years, but particularly paying off the accumulated debt that we had, is that we can invest more money into the development of our athletes. Our athletes when we started this in 1997 and 1998 said that the most important thing was to have quality domestic competitions and we think that through the Golden Spike Tour, now the Visa Championship Series, that we've delivered that. They said they needed that in order to develop their earning potential to not only be paid at those track meets, but they need to have exposure that will allow them to award their sponsors and we think we've done that with a quality television series that a lot of Americans watch. Now we're at a new level to help them do what they do more effectively. We have a four year development plan that we developed because the USOC requires us to develop it, that looks at what we can do on an event-by-event basis to get better, and we provide tremendous resources to our athletes such as high speed filming at all our major events that they can go and look at that night with people that can help them breakdown their performances through one of our suppliers, Dartfish. They can look at their performances and analyze them with their own coaches and with people who are experts so they can try to improve. I think the Chinese threaten seriously, and Russia, obviously, is already a great competitor, and that's what makes the opportunity to match-up with those countries attractive to us because the more our athletes can compete against those countries the better they'll be.

[achtungpv]

This announcement of Russia & China wanting to improve to be more competitive just BEGS for the USATF to put on a US-Russia-China triangle meet that could be a nice draw and have some media interest in the US. The USSR/US dual meets of the 50s & 60s drew over 50K fans every year.

But, USATF drops the ball as usual.

[CHC04Vault]

But, USATF drops the ball as usual.

Dont you mean Batan this is track after all

[Cpvault]

Why don't the Chinese just do what they did in 1988? That's when their swimmers and distance runners broke just about every record there was in distance running and swimming (remember: the universally understood tainted records). Obviously, their drug program was working; nobody got caught. Anything to get the one up!

[rainbowgirl28]

^bump

The Chinese vaulters have been improving! Anyone think they have a shot at medaling in Beijing?