Star diver praises nation's sports planning

MEXICO CITY: Chinese Olympic champion Guo Jingjing told a Mexico City press conference on Wednesday that good state planning was responsible for the success of the nation's divers.

Guo herself is living testament to China's development programs which identify athletic talent from an early age and train athletes to excel at the highest level.

Guo said she had been training for 19 years and had focused on every detail in a long-term bid to improve.

Guo will compete in the International Swimming Federation's World Diving Series' second phase in Mexico City tomorrow and Saturday.

Guo, who won this year's World Championships in the Australian city of Melbourne, will partner Wu Minxia for the 3m synchronized event.

Speaking at the end of her second day of practice, the Hebei Province athlete said China's divers had all the equipment and support they needed to excel thanks to the collective commitment to achieving the best results at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The diver will aim to repeat the 3m board and 3m synchronized diving wins she achieved in the World Series's first round in the English city of Sheffield.

Winner of the Mexico round will pocket $5,000, second place $4,000 and third place $3,000.

Divers who win all three competitions in the series will pocket a $25,000 bonus.

The last event in the series will be held in the Chinese city of Nanjing.

Mexico, China, the United States, Brazil, Cuba, France, Russia, Australia, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Japan, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Malaysia all will take part in the Mexico event.

Xinhua

(China Daily 09/07/2007 page22)