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Finding athletes in public places in Beijing

Neil, Community team

Finding athletes in public places in Beijing

Neil, Community team,
15 Aug 2008
The Olympic Green in Beijing is different to the concept for London's Olympic Park, with several large roads running through it to make it usable in legacy – even if they are currently empty.

To my surprise I found athletes training in the public areas of the Olympic Green. The northern reaches of the Olympic Green provided a haven for some cyclists (or possibly triathletes) to stretch their bike legs...

cyclist beijing olympic green 340x185

...whilst a race walker was observed several times, including heading south from the press centre towards venues like the 'water cube' that are big draws for the crowds at present:

athlete Beijing Olympic Green 340x185

All sports are different and have different traditions, but many people perhaps expect Olympic athletes to be removed from reality a little, perhaps like premiership footballers, only to be found far away from the public or in the VIP area in clubs. Today's evidence show's nothing is further from the truth.

I've also seen athletes from Russia and other countries exploring Beijing on the subway system, in fact that reminds me, at Archery earlier in the week the successful Russian athlete was to be found mingling with the crowd. Athlete seating areas at different venues also mean that spectators and athletes are almost side by side in some circumstances, rather than covered by a very obvious security balloon.

russian archer beijing 340x185

Of course this is a sports event, but its good to see that the elite performers are still very accessible to their supporters in a way that is not always visible in higher profile sports back home.
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