Champion diving coach hopes to make national team return
China's highly successful former Olympic diving coach Yu Fen expressed her desire to return to the national team and contribute to the team's Olympic preparations for the first time since leaving her post in 1996.
"I think I am still able to make contributions for the national team," Yu said on her blog. "I hope the team's possible victory at the Beijing Games will be partly from my efforts."
Yu said she has submitted the application to the State General Administration of Sports, and had face-to-face discussions about her return with Li Hua, head of the Swimming Administrative Center, diving's governing body.
"I expressed my hope and determination to chief officials. Now I am waiting for their final decision."
Yu coached Fu Mingxia and Guo Jingjing, both multiple Olympic gold medalists, before leaving the national team after the 1996 Atlanta Games amid rumors that she was clashing with current national team manager Zhou Jihong.
Yu has been a diving coach at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University since she left and has developed several student-divers into national team members.
"I have very good coaching experience from the Olympics. Apart from Fu and Guo, some of the emerging young divers on the national team were growing up under my coaching at Tsinghua University," Yu said. "I know their techniques and potential very well. If I join in, I will give specific and scientific trainings for them and help enhance their competitiveness in the Olympic pool."
Olympic hopefuls He Zi, Lin Yue, Zhou Luxin, Wang Xin and Yang Liguang, all highly fancied candidates for Beijing's final lineup, are the quality products of Tsinghua's training system.
China's university training system has been a topic of hot discussion since it is different from the national team's full-time professional training system, which is frequently blamed for the lack of education among young athletes.
Yu admitted on her blog that the national team's training system has played a key role in diving's superior development and China's dominance in the diving world.
But she remains protective of her divers, who are not allowed to take part in any major tournaments or Olympic trials because they are not part of the state sports structure. She once threatened to take her students abroad if the national team continued to exclude them.
Due to the conflict, some of her students had to leave the school in order to pursue higher targets.
But Yu has said she wants to supplement the national system, not compete with it.
"Everything is focused on the 2008 Beijing Olympics and I just want to make an extra contribution."
(China Daily 01/18/2008 page23)
