Canadian team invades Beijing

From Globe and Mail, Canada

BEIJING — The food is good, the beds are comfortable and the venues great.

The Olympic flame won't officially be lit until Friday but so far Canadian athletes and support staff like what they see at the Beijing Summer Games.

"Everything is pretty good," Grant Golding, a gymnast from Calgary, said Monday. "The (athletes') village is really nice. The gyms are great."

Things are going so well that Sylvie Bernier, the Canadian team's chef de mission, is actually looking for something to complain about.

"I am trying to find problems," the former Olympic gold medallist diver said while eating lunch at the athletes' village. "We are working out the little details, making sure the athletes are comfortable.

"The athletes are very pleased with the village and the training venues and competition sites. Most have been here for (test events), but to come back and see all the improvements that have been made. We knew the Chinese were going to be ready but we are very pleased with what we see right now."

By the end of Monday about 153 of Canada's 330-member Olympic team had arrived in Beijing. Bernier expects 314 athletes will be in country by the time of Wednesday's Canadian flag raising.

Unlike the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics where there were problems with food and transportation, the early reviews have been positive about the Beijing experience.

J.D. Burnes, an archer from Toronto, was amazed with his room at the athletes’ village.

"It's one of the nicest apartments I've ever stayed in," said Burnes, who is competing at his first Olympics. "The food is tremendous.

"There is so much selection. It covers everyone's tastes."

One old nemesis for Olympic organizers raised its head Monday morning when a thick blanket of smog drew a grey curtain across the blue skies of the previous two days. The sun, which had shone bright and yellow Sunday, looked an eerie blood red.

The humid 34 degree temperature meant dry clothes were quickly drenched with sweat after only a short walk.

Bernier said the Canadian team came to China aware air conditions could be an issue. Leading up to the Games, Chinese officials promised to reduce pollution by shutting down factories and limiting the number the number of cars on the road.

"I have been here three days and two of the three were very nice," said Bernier. "We are still confident that by the time the Games start the air quality will be good.

"We are hoping in the next three days the sky will be blue and the air quality will be there."
Golding said it's important to drink plenty of water and stay cool.

"You try not to get out in the sun too much so you don't get tired from sweating all day," he said.
Burnes grew up dealing with the humidity in Toronto.

"All the athletes are shooting in the same climate," he said. "If it affects me, it affects everyone else."

Most the Canadian athletes are staying at the Olympic Village, a group of 42 buildings with 9,000 rooms that can accommodate about 17,000 people.

"Every athlete that we have talked to is very impressed and amazed by the quality of this village," said Bernier. "Personally, I have never seen such a nice village in nine Games."

Athletes are staying two to a room. The village has a 50-metre swimming pool, exercise room and a video-game area with 25 televisions. Athletes can rent movies or video games.

The village cafeteria offers a variety of foods, ranging from Asian to Mediterranean and North American. There also is a salad bar and fruits.

Golding said a little more variety would be nice.

"The good is a little repetitive," he said. "After being here a week you get the same kind of things."

With the Games in its infant stages no transportation problems have appeared yet.

Bernier attended a meeting of mission chefs Monday and was impressed with how Beijing organizing officials and representatives from the International Olympic Committee answered questions.

"They were taking every question seriously and making sure they will solve every problem," she said. "Of course we will have a couple of problems along the way."

Even more impressive has been the enthusiasm of the thousand of volunteers.

"Every where you go, there are not two or three people trying to help you, there are 10 or 15 people that want to help you and make it easier for you," Bernier said.

The Chinese government has spent over US$40 billion on the Olympics, which they will use to showcase the often-secretive country to the world.

The Olympics will attract over 10,000 athletes from 200 countries competing in 302 events in 28 sports. Over 20,000 media have been accredited for the Games.

Friday's opening ceremony, which cost over $300 million, will feature more than 10,000 performers.

The Canadian Olympic Committee has set a goal of winning enough medals to finish among the top-16 countries. Hungary finished 16th at the 2004 Athens Olympics with 17 medals, including eight gold.
Canada won 12 medals in Athens (three goal, six silver, three bronze).

Flatwater kayak racer Adam van Koeverden, who will carry the Maple Leaf at the opening ceremonies, is one of Canada's best hopes for an Olympic gold medal.

Other potential medallists include the men's eight rowing team, Marie-Helen Premont in mountain biking, Brent Hayden in swimming, Karen Cockburn in trampoline and Tyler Christopher in track.

Golding, who also competed at the Athens Olympics, expects the Beijing Games to be a success.

"They'll do a good job of everything and things will turn out as they are supposed too," he said.