By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
The sign above the gym floor contains one word, “Gold.” It’s a stark, relentless reminder to the children beneath it as to just what their mission requires. China’s obsession with winning Olympic gold has turned gymnasiums into dungeons for its youngest and most promising athletes. Starting at age five, children are subjected to strenuous training techniques like hanging on rails with their arms extended backwards, swinging on beams, and being given painful lessons on what it takes to beat all comers and particularly Americans. And the work seems to be paying off at the London games, as 16-year-old Ye Shiwen swam her way to a world record in the 400 meter individual medley beating the old record by almost one second. Her teammate, Sun Yang, won the 400m freestyle. Both attribute their success to “hard work and training.” And in China, that’s no sports cliché.
In a stinging expose, the UK’s Daily Mail parted the curtain of one of China’s most successful training facilities, the Nanning Gymnasium. The photographs speak for themselves.
Here are some pictures taken by the Daily Mail:
mespo:
“We should light a candle most every day to Jesse Owens.”
Amen to that.
http://wonkette.com/480077/wingnuts-fail-to-freak-out-over-gabby-douglass-mother-giving-the-black-power-salute
sick, sick, sick
Pictures of child abuse are extremely hard to look at.
and no american child was ever crying from the training and contortions, no american parent ever forced their child to compete
The Uday Hussein School of Olympic Sponsorship.
One would think the IOC would take great exception to these tactics and sanction the team but they won’t.
Whether its sports, or freedom, I believe that desirable social and economic objectives are better achieved by voluntary action than by coercion or force.
intchinbayDog here. They eat dogs over there.
Someone explain why Bain Capital shipped all those jjobs over there to that Communist country. Why dont we still call it Red China? It is still Mao this! And Mao that!
OMG…..reminds me of POW’s housing…..
That’s right Molly, that’s W’s foot on the crying girl. That’s W making the boys hang on those bars. When does the obsession end? Why don’t you boil a rabbit!
This from a society that bound feet. Nothing has changed
There are many denominations in many countries of what Orwell called bully worship, the ‘universal religion’.
So I guess the desk is to demonize them sober don’t feel so bad about how much we owe.
And they also own the United States debt. Thanks to George Bush…
Sickening. Not much better than African warlords sending young boys into battle.
Great job Mark. The Chinese have fallen into the trap of following an old and brutal method of gaining success at the Olympic level. The Soviets and the East Germans tried it and while it produced medals, it was tantamount to child abuse.
do Chinese children all have access to healthcare?
Bron:
You’re right it’s nothing new.
We should light a candle most every day to Jesse Owens.
what is new? The Russians tried to prove that communist man was superior too.
We have 1/5th the population from which to draw our athletes and no one forces them to compete yet we are one medal ahead in the medal count.