The Price of China’s Olympic Success

[Innocent-Bystander]

http://www.odditycentral.com/news/the-price-of-chinas-olympic-success.html

[Tykwer]

lol.

Can't we have a rule where you have to give an opinion or at least a joke about the article you're making a topic about like in the long dead soapbox section?

China's the devil!

I recall being forced to participate in an activity for my entire childhood, by the US government no less, even though it made me cry at times. It was called school. Not to mention that a professional gymnastic program in the states is probably just as rigorous.

how dare they force that poor girl to play ping pong!

[Innocent-Bystander]

I'm trying something new. I am introducing a subject and then observing the replies. I'm trying to be less confrontational in my posts so I can see where people really come from. In the military, when a decision is needed, the lowest ranking person goes first so their opinion wont be swayed by what their boss says. I'm not saying I'm anyones boss, but I do have the tendency to be strong in my views. Other people who did not learn their managment skills from the point of a bayonet tend to lose their soft fuzzys and get cold prickillies.

If I was ever on the show Surviver, I would be the first one voted off. I know how to make condos out of the wilderness, running clean water and good food, but when I walk up to someone goofing off and say "Go get fire wood" they would get their little feelings hurt and want to get even. They would rather live naked in the rain, drinking muddy water then be told what to do. "He was rude to me so I voted his ass off." Said the poor starving dehydrated parasite ridden schmuck.

[recon_raccoon]

“I always knew being a professional athlete meant making serious sacrifices and that gymnasts don’t really have a childhood, but this like modern day torture to me. It’s nice to compete and win a title for your country but I have to wonder if it’s worth going through all this… As a parent I couldn’t let my kids go through anything like this, no matter how much I wanted them to be successful in sports, it’s just too much.”

As an athlete myself if you want to go pro training like what is shown in the photos is what is sometimes necessary. I also find it a little funny that the person posting this on that website is just a parent and does not say they played sports competitively or even ever played sports. Also I think this might mean more to me if maybe the person writing this had kids that play sports competitively or if it was a pro athlete.

[Sage]

I know how to make condos out of the wilderness, running clean water and good food, but when I walk up to someone goofing off and say "Go get fire wood" they would get their little feelings hurt and want to get even.

... and he will say that, too.

I can't find anything on it right now, but I remember reading the account of one of China's female weightlifters. One day, a government official walked into her school, measured some of the kids proportions, and decided that this girl's new life would be lifting weights. Keep in mind that a lot of these kids in China don't ask for the "fun" of their new sport, even their parents don't decide in a lot of cases.

In China, the State is God, and you will obey. It's a place where you can get shot in the back of the head for disagreeing with the party line, FFS.

[kilroy0097]

Those who do not compete professionally do not know the extreme methods used to become the best.
One might think that spending 8 hours a day studying words in a dictionary is torture but to the child who is training for the national spelling bee competition, this is just another day at the office.
Now did the child have a choice in training? Probably not. They were chosen and selected at a young age to train to become the best and in doing so further their country and their parents. If they become successful they give their parents a better life and win themselves honor for their family and their country. Is this fair? Not by western standards but only because it's a country government pushing them to become athletes and not just their parents forcing to become athletes. The same thing happens here in the US, the government just isn't involved.

[sir_digalot]

that was one of the reasons they tried to impose age restrictions on competitions to prevent lasting damage on young gymnasts etc, the problem is, that no matter what the age they are training real hard all the time from the time they are inducted into the sport... this includes ballet aswell there are so many injuries of young (sub 25) women ( and to a lesser extent in gymnastics men, but moreso in other sports) because they want to be the best... and by the time you are 21 22 you are done.

most all sports are like this at least the physical ones, which is why some people will only last a season or two before breaking everything ( or they juice and literally rip muscles off the bone) high pay, high prestige, high stakes, no risk no reward...

though i still think the american duo (shawn and the russian sounding chick) are good lookers.... which also makes a change from gaunt ugly chicks...