OLYMPICS/ Team china
Morning-final swim test for countdown
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-08 09:07
At the same day by the same morning-final format as it will be in the 2008 Olympic Games, world silver medalist Wu Peng will led a group of Chinese swimmers to contest a national swim meet from August 9 - 11 here in Beijing.
Wu Peng of China celebrates his winning of the men's 200 metres butterfly at the 8th FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Shanghai April 9, 2006. |
About 150 swimmers from the Chinese national team and provincial teams close to the capital city will compete in the 30-event swim meet, which is two less than the official events at the Olympics.
Wu Peng, runner up of the men's 200 meters butterfly at the Melbourne world championships last March, will start his effort in the men's 50m freestyle on the opening day of the meet.
Wu, 20, a medal contender of the host at the Olympic Games next year, said: "We have nothing special to celebrate the one-year countdown to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, but we will fight for it within the pool.
"I hope to feel the morning-final format and test my training progress for the two last months. It is also a warm-up meet gearing for an international event in Chiba, Japan at the end of the month, " Wu said.
According to Xu Qi, an official from the Chinese Swimming Association, the meet was recognized as a qualifying event for the Beijing Olympic Games. "Since this is an Olympic qualifier for the Olympics approved by FINA, the sport's world governing body, we hope our men's swimmers can achieve more standard A performances, especially in the relays, " Xu said here on Tuesday.
During the four-day swim meet, heats will start on 18pm local time and finals from 10am at the indoor training pool of the Chinese national team.
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