BEIJING — The United States’ sparkling training center at a Beijing university is so new, even students there haven’t been inside.
“Their students walk by and they’ve never been allowed in this building. All of a sudden a bunch of stinking Americans have shown up and they are occupying the space,” said Steve Roush, chief of sport performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
When the students at Bei-jing Normal University finally get in the recreation center they will see a 50-meter pool, three gymnasiums, indoor batting cages for baseball, a boxing ring, a plush weight room, a wrestling room equipped with a sauna, strips for fencing and modern pentathlon, volleyball courts, pingpong tables, mats for martial arts — and a perfectly manicured soccer field.
“This is unbelievable, beautiful — honestly,” said Tony Azevedo, captain of the men’s water polo team, straining under leg and chest exercises Wednesday in the university’s weight room. “I honestly didn’t expect anything like this. It’s just amazing.”
Eight years ago in Sydney, the USOC rented a warehouse and equipped it sparsely with a few barbells, dumbbells and video equipment.
“Oh, and we jerry-rigged some other stuff,” Roush said. “Maybe we added some boxing equipment.”
The USOC operated a similar facility four years ago in Athens at the American College of Greece, but this one is even better.
“This is our not-so-secret weapon,” USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said. “It is a reflection of how increasingly competitive the Games have become.”
Teams used to simply show up for the Games, check into the athletes’ village, and train at the Olympic venues on tight schedules designed to give every country practice time. But this is no longer enough, which will be reflected by the fierce race this time among China, Russia and the United States to top the gold-medal table.
The United States has won the most gold medals in the last three Olympics, but many expect China to be No. 1, capitalizing on the home-country advantage and unmatched depth from its fearsome state- run sports schools.
“Everyone is going to have their strength, but it will be who is picking up the medals in the new sports they have invested in,” said Roush, who has suggested the U.S. and China might each win more than 40 gold medals. The U.S. won 36 at the Athens Games, four more than China.
The shining university facilities mirror the modern venues for the Olympics. However, Beijing’s air pollution is a worry, even for athletes training inside or whose sports will be contested indoors.
