Chinese athletes to train, compete at NMU
August 8, 2007
BY JO-ANN BARNAS
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
For 10 days in October, a unique cultural exchange will take place at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University.
Athletes from four sports teams in China -- men's Greco-Roman wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and women's freestyle wrestling -- will train alongside U.S. Olympic hopefuls before gathering for a goodwill competition Oct. 23 at the Berry Events Center. The event will be open to the public.
It will be the first time Chinese athletes from four sports will compete at the same facility in the United States, said Jeff Kleinschmidt, program director of the U.S. Olympic Education Center.
During the past 10 months, NMU and the USOEC have worked hard to develop strong international ties with the Chinese. In October 2006, the university sent a delegation abroad, led by NMU president Les Wong. Two months later, at the invitation of the Chinese boxing federation, a group of USOEC athletes traveled to Yangzhou City for a competition.
When another invitation arrived to compete last February, Olympic boxing hopeful DeRae Crane said he jumped at the chance to go. The tournament was in Yancheng, north of Shanghai.
"The trip changed my life," said Crane, a senior marketing major at Northern. "Before, my motivation for doing a lot of things -- I was motivated by money. After going to China, I can say now that it's more important to be motivated by happiness."
Kleinschmidt, who has been to China twice, said: "I was amazed at the contrast between old and new in China. You can be going down a road and see someone riding a bicycle from the 1920s next to someone driving a Mercedes."
When the Chinese contingent arrives in Marquette, Kleinschmidt said, some athletes will be housed at the Olympic center dorms; others likely will be guests of host families in the community. He said several NMU professors and staff members have offered to serve as interpreters.
Crane, who qualified for the U.S. Olympic boxing trials Aug. 20-26 in Houston, said he knows Marquette will unfurl its welcome mat for its guests.
"I hope we can show them as good a time as they showed us," he said.