China and OlympicsChina, with the largest population in the world, has close relations with the Olympics. But in the first half of the 20th century, Olympics developed slowly in China because of years of civil war and outside aggression, weak economic national power and sluggish economy.After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, China opened a new page in Olympics. The Chinese Government sent a 40-member delegation to take part in the 15th Olympics held in Finland in 1952. However, the Chinese athletes only joined swimming matches. In 1979, Chinese Olympic Committee resumed its legal seat in International Olympic Committee (IOC). In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, China claimed 15 gold medals to place fourth in the gold medal ranking. In 1988, at the 24th Olympics held in Seoul, China clinched 5 gold medals. China brought in 16 golds in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, coming behind Russia, the United States and Germany. In 1996 in the 26th Olympics held in Atlanta in the US, Chinese players laid hands on 16 golds, 22 silvers to secure its fourth place in the ranking. Beijing failed in its biding for the 2000 summer Olympics, but China's Olympics movement has now entered a new age. Beijing has been in an effort to gain the right to host the 2008 Olympics ever since 1999. China enjoys advantages in men's gymnastics, diving, table tennis, women's heel-and-toe walking race, shooting and women's swimming. China's gold tally ends up to 28 at the Sydney Olympics, which brings China the third place in the medal table, a new record in Chinese Olympic history. |
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