Reports From Our Fellows

The New Olympic Superpower

Linda Robertson enjoying the view from inside the Water Cube.
Photo by: Linda Robertson

China was once known as the “Sick Man of Asia.” Long an Olympic weakling, China did not even participate in the Olympics from 1960 to 1984 due to the “Two Chinas” dispute and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. But today, China is the new Olympic superpower. KW Fellows at the Beijing Games witnessed the Sleeping Giant awaken in the sports arena. China won the gold medal race, tallying 51, and surpassed the United States, which won 36. The U.S. still stood atop the total medals scorecard, but China could dominate in 2012.

China’s athletic ascent has been more rapid than its economic one. No wonder, considering that it spent about $1 billion per gold medal, counting construction costs. While the U.S. continued to excel in team sports (and China failed in its favorites – men’s soccer and basketball), China’s “Project 119,” begun in 2001, targeted medals in sports where it could maximize its harvest, such as shooting and weightlifting. The U.S. will have to “redouble its efforts,” said U.S. Olympic Committee chief Peter Ueberroth, if it hopes to compete with China’s government-run, 3,000-school sports system. Now the U.S. has a new Red Machine rival to get those jingoistic juices flowing.

A bit of local flavor on the streets of Beijing.
Photo by: Linda Robertson

Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt were the jaw-dropping stars of the Games, but Yao Ming was the most charming. The 7-6 center ran with the torch in Tiananmen Square and carried the flag alongside a Sichuan earthquake victim during Opening Ceremonies. Olympians mobbed him for autographs. We met Guo Jingjing, the diva of diving and subject of constant gossip, and Lin Dan, the racquet-throwing bad boy of badminton. We glimpsed Liu Xiang, whose withdrawal from the 110-meter hurdles after a reclusive season left many questions.

China’s tot gymnasts (if the three youngest were 16, then Joan Rivers is 29) rushed through the media mixed zone with heads down. But one evening, Cheng Fei paused to talk, and started to cry. It was a rare peek behind the Chinese athletes’ game faces. She’d had a disappointing routine, and Chinese reporters shed tears with her and yelled words of encouragement.

One morning, I went to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven to observe the strange exercise rituals. It was like a scene out of Dr. Seuss – people walking backwards, standing on their heads, practicing tai chi and swordplay. It began to rain. A smiling older woman appeared at my side, took my hand, pulled me under her umbrella and escorted me to the shelter of the Echo Wall, where she joined a group arrayed around a man with a flute. They began singing “Amazing Grace.” It was just as memorable as any gold-medal performance at the Water Cube. —By Linda Robertson ‘07

Various China experts (including U-M professor Kenneth Lieberthal, whose 2007 class helped me prepare for the Olympics) say reform is inevitable in China’s harsh sports system. Just as Dwyane Wade and Serena Williams were busy “branding” their personalities to 1.3 billion Chinese consumers, China’s celebrity athletes want to cash in on the growing obsession with sports in a $15 billion industry by marketing themselves and keeping more of their earnings. Basketball’s Yao Ming made $55 million last year. Chinese gold medalists’ bonuses and endorsements averaged $220,000 (the average income in China is $2,400). Capitalism is booming; communism is passé.

The Water Cube glows at night during the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Photo by: Linda Robertson

I hadn’t been to China since 1986, when everybody still wore Mao jackets. Although China has been transformed, it still feels like an authoritarian society. But the graciousness of the people made up for the Big Brother scripted control of the government. Of the nine Olympics I have covered, Beijing was the most bizarre – from the fake breeze fluttering flags inside Bird’s Nest Stadium to the phony “protest zones,” empty because all applications were denied – and the most intriguing. The fried silkworms were tasty, too.