The Lenovo Internet Lounge has been a crucial part of Olympic Village life to athletes from all over the world - they visit to search for information on opponents, to contact friends and family members, or just amuse themselves.
Athletes like Zhang Ning, who won the gold in women's badminton singles, and Australian swimmer Libby Trickett, who won the gold in the women's 100-m butterfly, are lounge regulars, because the lounge is one of the places to relieve stress.
Zhang and Li Yongbo, coach of the Chinese badminton team, visited the lounge yesterday to share their Olympic stories with Lenovo staff and the media.
Alice Li, vice-president of Olympic marketing for Lenovo, said "the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games set a historic record in the worldwide audience, which is also the reason of the increased demand for surfing the Internet".
"Lenovo established six Internet lounges at Olympic villages in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong to meet Internet service demands from athletes, coaches and officials," Li said. "Altogether 234 Lenovo Yang Tian computers are used in the lounges - another new record in Olympic history."
One month has passed since Olympic villages began operation on July 20. The six lounges have since received an average of 4,000 visitors every day, far beyond anticipations.
One of the rules by the International Olympic Committee is that no Internet access or TVs are installed in athletes' apartments to ensure they have enough time to rest. Except those who bring laptops with them, most athletes and coaches use Internet lounges for communication and information. While in the lounges, they often search the Internet for sports video websites to study their opponents in slow motion.
Among athletes visiting Internet lounges to watch opponent videos are those in wrestling, short distance running and swimming.
The Croatian and Angolan men's basketball teams are frequent visitors to the Lenovo Internet Lounge.
Cuba's Dayron Robles, world record holder in the 110 m hurdles, and his coach visited the Lenovo lounge at the Beijing Olympic Village twice to check on the latest information.
Mijain Lopez, who won a gold medal for Cuba in the 120 kg men's Greco-Roman wrestling on August 14, was another who searched for information on his opponents at the Lenovo lounge.
Reading email, online chatting with relatives and friends, listening to music and watching films through the Internet are as popular with sports stars and Olympic champions as they are with the general public.
Nancy Carrillo, Daimi Ramirez and Rosir Calderon from Cuban women's volleyball team often visit the Lenovo Lounge together, checking their email box or just relaxing after competition. They also search for reports and photos of their own matches.
"The Games will be finished in five days. Some athletes have already gone back home after finishing competitions. Some of them will not forget the Lenovo Internet Lounge - they took pictures and videos before they left to record part of their life at the Olympic Village. We are proud of providing high quality services for athletes and coaches from all over the world," Li said.
Source: China Daily
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