IN BRIEF (Page 23)

Swimming

Chinese freestyler shines at Olympic swimming test event

Top Chinese freestyler Zhang Lin shined at a test event for the Beijing Olympic Games, snatching his third gold medal in the men's 1,500m race on Sunday.

Despite his victory at the 2008 Swimming China Open, the freestyle specialist did not get complacent.

"My result was lackluster," Zhang said after the race.

"I did not swim as well as I did yesterday," he told reporters, adding that the swimmers in the race were too weak to push him to a better result.

The 21-year-old rocked the home crowd on Saturday with a national record-breaking performance in the 400 meters race. He sliced 1.23 seconds off an earlier national record he set at a swim meet in Australia last December.

Zhang's finishing time of three minutes and 45.04 seconds was less than a second away from his archrival Park Tae-hwan of South Korea, who ranked first with 3:44.30 in FINA's 2007 world rankings.

Zhang's time could elevate him from the current seventh to second in the rankings.

"I was better prepared," said Zhang, adding a new national record had been out of his expectation.

Zhang on Friday finished third in the 200 meters and then blamed insufficient preparation.

Miscellaneous

National women's handballers hold New Year's party

China's national women's handball team held a grand party over the weekend in Beijing, celebrating the Lunar New Year festival.

Officials said they expected the party would help relax the handballers, who must stay in the capital city for the winter training camp while most of their compatriots go home to spend the holiday with their families.

The team's new South Korean head coach Kang Jae-won also attended the party.

"I spent almost my last 20 years abroad so now I do not have a feeling of homesickness," Kang said. "Plus I have a really good time with the Chinese players."

The team placed eighth during the 2004 Athens Games under the coach of another South Korean, Chung Hyung-kyun.

"Playing in the Beijing Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said team ace Wang Shasha. "I promise my teammates and I wouldn't let it slip away."

On the same day, China's gymnastics team held a similar party in Beijing.

Sports and artistic stars combine to entertain audience

Starting on Lunar New Year's Eve, which falls on February 6, CCTV-1 will launch a seven-day Olympic recreation activity program to promote the Beijing Games.

With supporting the Olympics as its theme, the program will invite Olympic and world champions to form the Gold Medal Team to compete against a team composed of notable Chinese actors and singers who are also sports enthusiasts. The two teams will entertain the audience in sports such as indoor soccer, basketball, table tennis, badminton and track and field, and artistic performances.

The program follows the Beijing Olympic slogan of "I Participate, I Enjoy" and strengthens the notion of Hi-Tech Olympics, People's Olympics and Green Olympics. It aims to inspire more Chinese citizens to exercise and to support the Beijing Olympics and to enjoy it.

Hi-tech experience of Olympic events during Spring Festival

FAW-Volkswagen will set up an Experience Olympics Events area during the annual 25th Beijing Longtan Fair starting on New Year's Eve and ending a week later.

The activity comes to the Chinese capital after shows in Changchun, Shanghai and Chongqing. Local citizens not only have the chance to experience all 28 sports of the Beijing Olympic Games, but also to compete against some of China's world champions. The activity also includes the Olympic knowledge contest, Olympic cultural experience and Olympic volunteer demonstration.

The event is the largest Olympic experience show before the Beijing Games opens on August 8. It includes a main center and eight experience halls with hi-tech equipment such as swimming lanes, boxing rings and running tracks.

FAW-Volkswagen will send tickets for the activity to the construction workers of the Bird's Nest, the stadium hosting the opening and closing ceremony of the Beijing Games.

(China Daily 02/05/2008 page23)