08.22.06
Olympic test events beginning
Call Beijing the anti-Athens. Venues are up and running, and official Olympic test events are beginning two years out from the big day. The world junior track and field championships went off without a hitch this past week with decent weather, a not-too-scary pollution index, and slews of personal bests and championship records.
This week in Qingdao it’s the test event in Olympic sailing. Still to come this month: the world softball championships.
First test event for 2008 under way in Qingdao (Reuters)
Record medal haul offers hope (People’s Daily Online - coverage of the Chinese team at world junior track and field)
Future looks bright for China after world juniors (Guardian UK)
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And elsewhere in the China sports universe…
China’s top talent stays home from Pan-Pacific swimming championships (SLAM! Sports)
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And who can forget the world basketball championships, which began Saturday in Japan?
Yao sees improvement of China from huge loss (People’s Daily Online)