December 18, 2006

How Does a USA - China Partnership Help Our Coaches and Swimmers?

Posted by Scott

According to the Miami Herald, the U.S. and Chinese Olympic teams have agreed to be partners (I actually believe this is quite old news). The nations have vowed to exchange coaching expertise, sports science information and insights on how to make future champions.

According to the top dogs at the USOC they say it will help both sides. According to them, the Americans can get a boost where the Chinese are strong - sports such as diving and weightlifting, and China can gain ground in sports where U.S. athletes are abundantly talented, such as swimming and track.

”China and the United States are competitors — but also friends in the world of sport,” said Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Bah, I say. I agree with Gary Hall Jr., who told the Miami Herald that closer contact with the Chinese could allow Team USA an early glimpse of any potential doping schemes, particularly within a society that holds its secrets tightly. But in reality, I do not think that is going to happen.

”It doesn’t take much digging to see that the Chinese sports program in the past was pretty tarnished with a lot of positive drug tests. Maybe we’ll gather insight as to what they’re doing out of the pool,” said Gary Hall Jr.,. “They had something like 20 positive tests from their swimming program since the late 1990s.”

Actually, Gary, that number is over 40 since the 1990s.

During a recent conference call with the media, Ueberroth attempted to deflate any doping concerns and predicted the 2008 Summer Olympic hosts (the chinese) would not “embarrass themselves by doing anything that’s improper.”

But I think Ueberroth may have just embarrassed himself in truly believing that China is going to become totally clean considering their long and storied history in the doping community - especially in the sport of swimming.

USOC leaders say they are eager to learn more about the use of herbs in Chinese sports as well as how Chinese athletes use yoga, sauna and steam to recover naturally from rigorous workouts.

I say, read a book. While I may sound harsh, why share secrets in such a cut-throat game as the Olympics? These “remedies” are easily researched and read about in scientific and medical journals, I would imagine.

“Any coach will tell you they’d like to hear what their competitors are doing so you can spark something that’s previously been a little bit stale. It’s an opportunity for us to take someone that’s quickly on the rise and basically learn a lot of the techniques they are utilizing,” said Steve Roush, chief of sport performance for the USOC.

Is that true coaches? I would imagine yes, but how does getting these tidbits from China help American swimmers? Yeah, I am selfish in talking specifically about swimming, but when you want your native country to be successful in the sport you are passionate about, wouldn’t you be? Wouldn’t it make sense for the USOC to invest in some sort of wiki or database for our own coaches to share training “secrets” be better use of the their time? Enable our coaches across the country… the coaches of our future Olympians benefit from something… not just the elite. Or is that easier said than done?

“We are an Olympic family. It’s almost expected. If you’re doing well, you provide resources that others may not have to help with the overall mission of Olympism,” Roush continued.

That statement reaks of political innuendos. Is it about politics? Probably. It is no secret that the USOC believes this partnership will help the United States win a future bid for an Olympic Games, but is that what this is all about? I, for one, would rather share my knowledge with my fellow Americans… not the Chinese, and see the future of American swimming continue to dominate the rest of the world in the pool.