"Did you know this?...John Leon"
Hello Sore Losers - here's how the Chinese wins swimming gold!!!
SUCCESS STORIES: Redcliffe swim coach Ken Wood and some of his Chinese swimmers.Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
THIS is the
medal factory that churns out champion Chinese swimmers - and it's on
the outskirts of humble Brisbane , not Beijing .
Aussie swim coach Ken Wood's
Redcliffe City High Performance Centre is one of the secrets behind
China 's success at the London Olympics.
China has sent so
many of its swimmers to Wood's Olympic production line, paying big money
for the privilege, that the 82-year-old has lost count.
"I couldn't tell you, but it's a lot," he said. "I had 20 on the Olympic team - 15 individual swimmers and five in relays.
"The money is obviously no
object to them. The Chinese Government wants to put China back as the
No.1 swimming nation in the world.
POWER protege: Chinese powerhouse Ye Shiwen's photo on the wall of Ken Wood's office. Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
"They're on a mission now . . .
it's not a matter of if they're going to be No.1 swimming nation in the
world, it's just a matter of when."
With gold medal bonuses of up to $250,000, Wood is set for a big windfall after China 's impressive London performances.
Double gold medallist Ye Shiwen,
the 16-year-old record-breaking sensation, is among the wave of foreign
opponents who have trained here.
But it's a controversial payday
as Australian swimming descends into recriminations over the failure to
win individual gold in the pool for the first time since 1976.
CENTRE of excellence: The Redcliffe swimming high performance centre. PIC: Jamie Hanson Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
Swim boss Leigh Nugent blames
our "easy life" society, and pool legend Shane Gould accused coaches of
putting statistical analysis over technique. But Wood, who caused a
storm last week when he said Australian swimmers were "too fat", says
discipline and tough love is China 's "X factor".
A dozen Chinese swimmers arrive
at his centre at a time with their own doctor, physiotherapist, chef,
masseuse and four coaches in a precision operation. They rent luxurious
three-bedroom apartments on the Redcliffe foreshore, then dismantle the
plush rooms, rearrange the furniture and put mattresses on the floor so
each has their own sleeping space.
One owner says: "They are very quiet, very well-mannered and the perfect tenants."
Aussies need their heads read
No psychologist in the swim camp
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They use the pool and local gym
and hire two mini-vans to take them to Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast
beaches and theme parks on a Saturday afternoon. But this is no holiday.
They don't even sample our cuisine, with Redcliffe's famed fish and
chip shops not getting a look in.
LANGUAGE barrier: A translation chart helps in the teaching process. Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
"They have their cooking utensils waiting out the back," Wood says.
"They don't cook by electricity,
they cook by gas only in the woks and all their food is purchased at
Chinatown . The fish, the vegetables, everything. They just do not eat
any of our food at all."
Training begins at 5am daily
with a two-hour session written by Wood. Before the last lap is
complete, the Chinese coaches have already emailed the session back home
for their provincial coaches to use on the other athletes still in
China . There are 10 pool sessions and two gym workouts a week.
WALL of winners:: Ken Wood's office wall. PIC: Jamie Hanson Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
While only the top echelon of
China 's elite get to work directly with Wood, back home the numbers are
mind-blowing. There are 28 provinces that share a rivalry as fierce as
State of Origin and each has more than 100 swimmers between the ages of
seven and 12. There are five coaches to every 20 swimmers.
"Our job was to educate the
coaches. They don't know anything about physiology, energy systems,
biomechanics. They think threshold is a doorway," Wood says.
What the Chinese coaches do
have, however, is discipline. The coaches might be lax with a
stop-watch, or duck outside for a cigarette every 10 minutes, but they
rule the pool with an iron fist.
MR MEDALS: Ken Wood in his office. PIC: Jamie Hanson Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
Wood has broken cultural
barriers. When Ye won the world 200m medley title in Shanghai last year,
she climbed into the stand to embrace Wood. Victory changes the
swimmers' lives. Everything is performance-based. Before international
success, the best in each province earns $1000 a month and has their own
bedroom. It's a sliding scale to almost nothing for the slowest swimmer
in each squad.
"With a world record, she is a
millionaire now," Wood said. "When Liu Zige won (200m butterfly) in
Beijing she gave her coach a brand new four-wheel-drive. They took her
to Hong Kong and they gave her a kilo of gold."
Politicians are like diapers, they should be changed frequently and for the same reasons.
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