China's Aim to Win An Athletics UnchangedChina's aim to win a gold medal from track and field remains unchanged though its team has been cut to 26 from the original 38, a top athletics official said Wednesday in Sydney.Xie Yalong, president of the Chinese Athletics Management Center which governs China's athletics, said that China's gold chance still lies in the women's 20km walk. Liu Hongyu and Wang Yan finished 1-2 in the event at last year's Seville World Championships but Wang was forced to pull out of the Olympics due to injuries just weeks before leaving for Sydney. Zhang Fuxin, their coach for five years, will also miss the Olympics because one of his male walker Liu Yunfeng, was found to have a "suspicous" urine sample in a test in Duoba training camp earlier. "Liu has returned to Beijing from Duoba camp and she will arrive in Sydney on September 22nd," Xie said. "She is now in good form and I believe the changes will not affect her chance of winning a gold medal." |
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