China went to Athens with a modest goal: winning at least 20 gold medals and hanging on to third place on the final medal tally as it did four years ago in Sydney.
There were many reasons not to aim too high, one being that of the 407 athletes who went to Athens, 323 were making their Olympic debut. Several veterans were passed over in order to give younger athletes experience in the Athens Games in hopes that they will be ready to deliver the goods four years from now in Beijing.
The final medal tally gives plenty of reasons to expect great things from China, a growing sports superstate that proved itself four years ago in Sydney, when it won an unprecedented 28 gold medals and joined the United States and Russia at the top of the world sports heap.
China finished the Athens Games with 32 gold medals, just three golds shy of the US take. Russia slumped to third place with 27 gold medals.
In the overall medal standings, the US claimed 103, Russia 92 and China 63.
In addition to those 63 medals, China brought home six new world records, 21 Olympic records and a tied world record.
"Now I can say proudly that we have fulfilled our pre-Games goal in a perfect way," said Yuan Weimin, chef-de-mission of the Chinese delegation, just before the closing ceremony. "We are very pleased that our athletes did their best."
However, Yuan said that it is the broader performance of excellence in many events that pleases him the most.
"The Athens success sets a strong foundation for the overall improvement of China's sports and gives us a lot of confidence."
The Athens success also soundly refutes the view that the Sydney victory might have been luck. It reflects the increasing investment and confidence in sports as well as inspiration from Beijing's successful bid for the 2008 Games.
In Sydney, China's 28 gold medals came in nine sports; in Athens that number increased to 13.
Among the four new sports in which China struck gold, the biggest surprise came from women's tennis doubles players Li Ting and Sun Tiantian. The pair, in their first Olympics, upset a field seeded with 13 of the world's top 20 players.
But the most memorable medal belongs to Liu Xiang. The 21-year-old hurdler became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold in track events, simultaneously tying a world record in the 110-meter hurdles.
In the Olympic debut of women's wrestling, 19-year-old Wang Xu emerged as the winner in the 72-kilo category and Meng Guanliang/Yang Wenjun brought China its first-ever Olympic gold in aquatic events by winning the men's C2 500-meter on canoeing and kayaking flatwater.
"It showed that years of effort made in these sports finally paid off," said Yuan. "The world has to take a new look at us with these breakthroughs."
Yuan noted that China remains strong at its traditional favorites, like table tennis, badminton, judo, diving, shooting, gymnastics and weightlifting, although challenges from rivals are mounting.
In Athens, Chinese athletes won 22 gold medals from these seven events, five fewer than in Sydney.
"That's normal because our rivals are growing," Yuan said. "But I am very glad to see so many young Chinese athletes emerge to lead their fields."
Zhang Yining is the best example. The current world No. 1 paddler came out from the shadow of her double Olympic champion teammate Wang Nan, making her the new queen of the sport with two golds from the women's singles and doubles.
Seven of China's gold medalists are still teenagers.
"Generally speaking, the young athletes gave an excellent performance and made themselves potential medalists for the Games in Beijing in four years," said Yuan
Although Yuan is confident that China will do even better in the Beijing Games, he said it isn't yet ready to battle for top place with the US. "The gap is still obvious and it cannot be overcome in four years."
But he is ambitious.
"It is true that we cannot shake the American advantage now but we are always thinking of the future. We hope we can shorten that gap as much as possible in next four years."
(China Daily August 31, 2004)
