Liang Chaw, coach of the US women's gymnastics team, said on Wednesday that he felt welcomed in his home city Beijing while leading the US side competing in the Olympic Games.
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Shawn Johnson of the US (R) is congratulated by her coach Liang Chow at the end of her routine in the women's qualification balance beam during the artistic gymnastics competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 10, 2008. [Agencies]
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Liang Chow grew up in Beijing. He was a member of the Chinese bronze medal-winning team at the 1989 World Championships. In 1994, Chow moved to Iowa, the United States, where he opened a school to teach gymnastics skills to young children. Just a few blocks away lived six-year-old Shawn Johnson. She went to Chow's school, and began her path to the Olympics.
"I feel very comfortable coming back to my home city. I feel like I'm warmly welcomed to come back," he said, "representing the US, and as the head coach of the women's team, I feel honored."
"I feel great about the accomplishment for the athletes and for me. It's been 14 years I haven't been here. It's definitely a great honor to come back as the head coach of the US women's team. I'm really excited," added Chow.
Chow brought with him a simple philosophy for success.
"For this high level of gymnastics, you can not get to this level without hard work, no matter what kind of system you are in," he says.
The American women were deemed as biggest opponents to the hosts, who were looking to a medal haul to erase memories of their Athens failure.
However, Chow did not teach Johnson to be an adversary of her Chinese rivals. Instead, he used many Chinese teaching methods to help Johnson compete better on the international stage. And that has helped to put her at ease with Chinese gymnasts.
"I am very good friends with the Chinese team. And I think that has to do a lot with Chow," Johnson says. "We have just always had a great relationship. And of course there is the communication barrier. But you can tell through body language and through the few words that we do know that we care about each other. And we want the best for each other."
"Me and Cheng Fei get along really good. After the competition, she actually gave me a congratulation gift, which meant a lot to me and really touched my heart," Johnson said.
And Chow got the best out of his team at the Beijing Olympics.
"We had eight medals for women's gymnastics here. And the sport is very international. It does not belong to one nation. I feel great about our accomplishment," he says.
One of those accomplishments included Shawn Johnson's gold medal from the balance beam.
