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Beijing Holds Long Distance Running Event to Mark Olympic Day
As part of the worldwide celebration of the World Olympic Day, a traditional long distance running event opened here on Sunday for the fifteenth year.
As many as 5, 000 people, including elementary students, company staff and retirees, gathered at the Yunhe Cultural Plaza, east of Beijing, for this yearly race which China held since 1987.
The International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch sent his congratulatory letter to the event, run by the Chinese Olympic Committee and sponsored by the Coca-Cola company.
Two Olympic champions, featuring China's fist Olympic gold medalist Xu Haifeng and Sydney Olympic diving champion Li Na, showed up at the event.
Xu, a former air rifle shooter and currently head coach of the Chinese national team, had a deep feeling of the Olympic Movement, experiencing three Games as an athlete and two Games as a coach.
"I was impressed by all the five Games, in particular when China's national flag was hoisted above the stadiums," said Xu. "I have a strong wish to see the Olympic flag rise in Beijing."
Beijing, along with Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul, is bidding for the 2008 Olympic Games, and the IOC will make the final vote on July 13, at Moscow.
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