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Perfect Blend at Tokyo Games

Aug 03, 2021

Perfect Blend at Tokyo Games

By Target Language Translation Services | Updated: 2021-8-03 17:00


Alliance of predomination: Foreign coaches and China's Olympians

Even handling with cultural differences, the language barrier and homesickness exacerbated by the pandemic, a group of foreign coaches has hit on a medal-winning formula with China's hardworking Olympians at Tokyo 2020.

Halfway through the action at Tokyo 2020, the Chinese delegation has witnessed a series of breakthroughs in some of the country's underdeveloped sports, masterminded by a foreign legion of world-class coaches and trainers.

Guided by a total of 30 foreigners in Tokyo-the most among a Chinese delegation since the 2008 Beijing Games-Team China has expanded its prowess beyond its strength events, such as table tennis and weightlifting, to a number of Western-dominated sports.

The success comes from a special blend of foreign expertise with the traditionally rigorous State-run development system.

It is an alliance perhaps best epitomized by the moment when French coach Hugues Obry carried fencer Sun Yiwen on his shoulder after Sun claimed China's first Olympic gold medal in women's individual epee on July 24.

Obry, a gold-medal winner with the French men's team at the 2004 Olympics, joined China's national program five years ago, tasked with reviving an epee team that left the Rio Games without any golds.

"For me, it was not a tough decision to make," Obry told China Daily through an interpreter in Tokyo. "I was intrigued by the challenge to work with a foreign team away from home, and to see if I could bring my understanding of fencing to a different culture and make it work.

"For my family in France, it was probably a hard decision. But they accepted the choice I made and the sacrifice paid off," added Obry, who has spent most of the past five years away from his wife and two kids.

French recipe

Obry's compatriots Christian Bauer and Daniel Levavasseur led China's swordsmen and women to gold medals at Beijing 2008 (men's individual saber) and London 2012(women's team epee).

The disappointing performance at Rio 2016 triggered a reshuffle of the national program, with Obry immediately shaking things up by picking a new generation of talent.

"My selection was not the strongest at that time, but I picked those that I could help improve the most and who were committed to working with me until 2020.

"Chinese athletes are all hardworking, which instantly impressed me.

"What they lacked was the quality and intensity in training. They have to train hard enough in the right way, not just for long enough."

Under Obry's guidance, Sun, one of only two fencers in the squad with previous Olympic experience in Tokyo, fended off a series of tough opponents before meeting world No 1 Ana Maria Popescu in the final. Sun outmaneuvered the Romanian veteran with composure and precision to secure an 11-10 overtime win.

In the euphoria of victory, Obry stormed onto the piste cheering loudly and holding a Chinese flag to celebrate with his protege, creating an Olympic moment that will live long in the memory.

"I should've held her up higher," Obry said. "There's no better stage to express our emotions and celebrate our efforts than the Olympics."

Rowing revolution

Following up the fencers' foreign-aided success was the country's rowing team.

Overseen by British legend Steve Redgrave, Chinese rowers pocketed a gold in the women's quadruple sculls and two bronze medals from men's double sculls and women's eight in Tokyo-the first time China has taken home three rowing medals from an Olympic regatta.

Citing the potential he identified in the talent pool and the training support only available in China's State system, Redgrave is bullish on the country's chances of sustaining elite performance in the sport.

"I was brought in to try and build the team to be the best rowing nation in the world," said Redgrave, who was hired as a high-performance director in 2018.

"To win three medals puts us as the best Chinese rowing performance at Olympic Games ever… that's a good start," said the Briton, the only rower to win five golds at five consecutive Games.

"They have the athletes training full time as much as they need. They are at permanent training camps, whereas most Western countries have problems of traveling to camps.

"What they lack is the confidence that they can be the best in the world, and if we can deal with that, then the rest of the world should be very scared of what China can do, with or without me."

As the world's most decorated figure in rowing, Redgrave had never thought he'd one day take his 40 years of experience to the East until China came knocking and offered him a blank canvas.

"My former manager rang me up and said, 'you fancy working in China?' My first answer was 'no', I am happy with my life. I am playing golf and being able to see my family," Redgrave recalled.

"But there's a part of me that misses being part of a team…It is actually easier to deal with teams that are not so strong because there's more space to go."

With his contract signed through Paris 2024, Redgrave reckons that multiple golds should now be the target in three years' time.

Family ties

Working far from home had never beset China's foreign coaches-that was until COVID-19 wreaked havoc on international travel.

With China tightening its border controls in early 2020 to curb imported coronavirus cases, both Redgrave and Obry had to stay with their teams in China much longer than expected, without being able to occasionally travel back home during holidays.

Redgrave stayed with the rowing squad at northeast Beijing's Shunyi district since last September until departing for Tokyo, missing his daughter's 30th birthday. Obry admitted that he missed his family more than he ever expected.

"I didn't consider family time as precious as I do now. When you have to leave them far away for so long, you realize how important your family is," said the Frenchman, who has promised to take his family on vacation across China once the pandemic is under control.

For Redgrave, the Tokyo Olympics not only delivered a breakthrough for his team but also a well-earned family reunion.

The Englishman got to see his wife, who works with the British Olympic team as a doctor, for the first time in months in Tokyo and returned home with her after the regatta finished on Saturday.

"I don't really like my family," joked Redgrave before adding in earnest: "But being away from them has made me miss them so much."



This article is reprinted from China Daily.

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