>>>>>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2578540/Liu-Xiangs-Olympic-prospects-ruined-by-Chinas-sports-system-claims-coach.html
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>>>>Chinese training of Olympic athletes probably is excessive. So is the training of Olympic athletes about everywhere else when viewed from the POV of mere mortals. I read something Michael Phelps said the other day about a training drill his coach, Bob Bowman, favors: a set of 30 x 50 butterfly lengths, climbing out of the pool at each end and diving back in. He said after about 20 you can barely stand up. Yet he didn't break down in the Olympics. It's a fine line between having an athlete at the peak fitness needed to medal and overdoing it. Sprinters and especially hurdlers like Liu are notoriously susceptible to hamstring injuries, which was Liu's root problem. (The Achilles was a symptom unless I miss my guess). I don't think you can blame it on the system.
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>>>>It's amazing how much pressure Liu had on him. It was like he was carrying the whole country's hopes on his shoulders, which is not fair. He was reportedly distraught after being forced to drop out; his coach cried at the press conference; so did reporters. Too much!
>>>
>>>Crying at something like that is not unusual. Canada doesn't have that sort of excessiveness, but when Perdita Felicien tripped on the hurdle at the 2004 Olympics, she certainly cried. The frustration has to be almost overwhelming in a situation like that.
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>>Some of the Chinese gymnastics competitors still cry at feeding time.
>
>And what is it with constant kissing of female gymnasts? It is like an open pedophilia <g>. Times have changed a lot since I was doing competitive sports. In my time the only tender and supporting words I remember from the coach were "you see, you weren't stupid this time and you did better, you idiot" <g>

When I was playing high school football (I played corner), I made a tackle in the centre and pulled off a fingernail. I went to the sideline to get the finger bandaged, and the coach asked if I was ok. I said I thought so, and he said, "So what the hell are you doing over here? Get back out there."