In the first 6 days of the Beijing Olympic Games, the China team has been an outstanding gold medal winner. Within less than one week, it has won more than 29 gold medals, double the number of gold medals won within corresponding period of time in last Olympics. Good timing, favorable geographical location and support from the people add up to the advantages that help Chinese athletes perform extraordinarily well. The world will focus on how the China team is going to compete with various powerful rivals such as the American and Russian teams.

Dream Eight from the China team

Dream 8 is not exclusive to NBA. There are a few Dreams Eight among the China team. They are named as such due to their great potential in winning eight gold medals or so in the sport events they participate in.

The weightlifting team is so far the most exceptional team in the China team. They have won the first gold medal for the team. Chen Xiexia won the first gold medal for China and the team won another five gold medals in another six events. For the coming events, Chinese athletes are supposed to take part in two events, Women's Weightlifting 75kg and Men's Weightlifting 85kg. If they perform well enough, the Weightlifting team is quite likely to work a miracle of winning eight gold medals in the Olympic Games.

The Chinese Diving Team tops the Team Eight in the China team. Despite the team leader Zhou Jihong's consistent attempt to disregard the question about winning eight gold medals, the team's distinctive performance has convinced us of the great hope and possibility of winning eight gold medals. So far, in the four finished synchronized events, Chinese athletes have won gold medals beyond controversy. Fierce competition may not start until when individual events begin.

The China team's strong sports also include gymnastics, shooting, table tennis, and badminton, etc. Shooting and badminton are to be finished on the 17th and gymnastics and weightlifting 19th. Whether the China team can manage to remain the first gold medal winner crucially depends on their performance in the certain remaining events.

Breakthrough Expected of Weak Events

The so called "Seven Golden Flowers" of the China team are weightlifting, diving, gymnastics, shooting, table tennis, badminton and women's judo. These seven events have yielded most of the gold medals ever won by the China team in the Olympics. In 2004 Olympics in Athens, the China team got breakthrough in relatively weak events such as track and field, tennis, and kayak, etc. Whether in these events the China team can continue to outdo themselves is critical to the total number of gold medals for China.

Besides Liuxiang, Zhou Chunxiu is another track athlete expected to collect a gold medal for the China team. Zhou won the gold medal in Londan marathon last year. The women tennis doubles remains one of the events likely to collect a gold medal for the China team. Meanwhile, Li Na's performance in single events makes us to expect exceptional performance in women's tennis single. Boxer Zhou Shiming, beach volleyball players Tian Jia and Wang Jie, bicycle track racer Guo Shuang and athletes of some aquatic events are expected to contribute to the China team's triumph on medal tally.

After the 20th, the China team's strong events are down to just a few, that is table tennis, taekwondo, and women's volleyball. The China team has to seek breakthrough in weak events so as to remain number one winner on the gold medal tally.

Competitive Rivals Watching and trying to Catch Up

Schedules are set in such a way that happen to leave American and Russian as well as some other competitive teams' strong events to be started on the later half of the Olympics. This also determines that the heated completion for gold medals is to begin since the 20th.

The track and field events are started From August 15th , while will yield the most number of gold medals. The USA and Russia have long been the top two powerful gold medal winners in track and field events. In 2004 Olympics in Athens the USA played subpar in track and field but still won eight gold medals. So far, the USA has ranked worldwide number one in ten events. In the World Championship last year they even managed to collect fifteen gold medals, which is a real display of their significant competitiveness.

Russia is another powerful competitor in track and field events. Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and triple jump queen Tatiana Lebedieva are candidates for gold medals. Russia is also expected to win gold medals in boxing and wrestling. On the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games,these events helped the Russian team catch up with China and finish as number two gold medal winner on the tally, after they had been behind China for quite a while. Russia won gold medals in these events in the very last few days of the Olympic Games.

With less than half of the 16-day events finished, the China team's leading place in the medal tally is not final yet. The start of track and field and other events are going to make the completion for gold medals even more fierce. The China team's gold medal ranking is to be challenged by powerful competitors like the American and Russian teams. How is the China team going to remain on its way to being the final greatest winner of gold medals? As the host country, will China be able to continue its lead in the second half? These questions are bound to concern people in upcoming events.

By People's Daily Online