Dutch Olympic Committee chief wishes Beijing Olympics success
3/4/2008 17:10
China has made tremendous efforts to ensure the upcoming summer Olympic
Games in Beijing a success, Dutch Olympic Committee President Erica Terpstra
said in a recent interview with Xinhua in The Hague.
"I really hope there
will be a big success (in Beijing)," she said.
MARVELOUS VENUES AND
PEOPLE
As the president of both the Dutch Olympic Committee and the Dutch
Sports Confederation, Terpstra visited Beijing Olympics construction sites many
times and she is quite satisfied with the venues. "The buildings are absolutely
beautiful," she said.
Terpstra, herself a former Olympic swimmer, is
especially fond of the swimming pool. "The Olympic swimming pool is so-o-o
beautiful," she marvelled.
As for the challenges for Beijing to control air
pollution and traffic jams, Terpstra said these are common challenges for the
world's big cities and she believed the Chinese government has made an earnest
effort to improve the situation.
"China plans to restrict the number of cars
that could hit the road during the Games. Maybe that can help," she said.
She
is also full of compliments for Chinese volunteers. Having seen Chinese
volunteers doing their job during the Beijing marathon in October, she concluded
that they will put on an equally fantastic if not better performance during the
Olympic Games.
"I respect and salute all the volunteers for the Olympics.
They are doing a marvelous job," she said.
Terpstra is also pleased at the
Chinese organizers' initiative to ask middle schools in Beijing to "adopt"
countries that participate in the the Games.
Each participating country is
adopted by a school whose students will then learn the history and culture of
the country and to cheer for the country's athletes during the
Olympics.
"It's such a great idea! I will soon visit the school in Beijing
which adopted the Netherlands," she said.
BIGGEST EVER DUTCH
DELEGATION
Terpstra said that her country will dispatch the biggest Dutch
Olympics delegation ever to Beijing, with 240 to 260 members. The Dutch athletes
will compete in more sports events than at any previous Olympics.
"Our
ambitions are high," she said, noting that the Dutch are strong at swimming,
cycling, horse dressage, rowing, hockey and judo.
"We'd like to finish at the
top ten of the world (medal rankings) ," she said, refraining from making medal
predictions.
The Dutch top athletes have been training for 10 to 12 years to
get an entrance ticket to the Olympics, she said.
"All they want now is to
realize their dreams -- being the best at the Games," said Terpstra, who won a
silver and a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
During the Games, the
whole Dutch nation will cheer for the Dutch athletes, she said. Many people will
be dressed in orange, the color of the Dutch royal house, and those who can not
travel to Beijing will be glued to television to watch the events.
The
Olympics are a unique occasion where people from different backgrounds are
brought together and practise sport in a spirit of friendship, free from
discrimination, Terpstra said.
"It's so marvelous to be an athlete in the
Olympic village, seeing people of all colors of the rainbow, of all cultures,
religions and beliefs, who have one thing in common: the Olympic dreams," she
said. "You really feel you are a global citizen."
"It's the power of sports,"
she concluded.
FRIEND OF CHINA
Terpstra studied the Chinese language and
culture at university. Her dream then was to be a diplomat in the Far
East.
"I have always been fascinated by the Chinese culture, especially the
ancient Chinese arts. I am also attached to Buddhism," she said.
Terpstra
didn't become an ambassador to China, but her Chinese knowledge comes in handy
when the Olympics go to China. "Wo shi ni men de peng you (I am your friend),"
Terpstra said in Chinese.
When she studied sinology at the Leiden University
in 1962, there were only three students in her class, but now there are hundreds
of students each year.
Terpstra visited China many times, and what struck her
most were the dramatic changes in the country in the past decades.
"When I
first went to Beijing in 1978, there were no cars, no highways, and bicycles
were everywhere. Chinese people were dressed in the Mao Zedong suits," she
recalled.
Then she witnessed amazing changes in the past couple of years. "It
was a miracle what's going on in China. It's absolutely great, " she said.
NO
POLITICAL REMARKS FROM ATHLETES
Terpstra said it's a pity that there have
been so much discussions in the West about human rights issues in China that the
brilliance of the Games has been somewhat overshadowed.
"The Chinese
government has made so much an effort to make the Olympics a success," She said.
"I really hope there will be a big success."
Terpstra said that during the
Olympic Games Dutch athletes are not allowed to make political statements, take
part in political demonstrations or wear T shirts with political
slogans.
"These rules are written in the Olympic Charter and have been
implemented for many years. This has nothing to do with China," she said.
"We
expect our athletes to stick to the rules: There should be no political actions
whatsoever in the Olympic village or other venues," she said.
If any athlete
is found breaching the rules, he or she will be immediately suspended for the
remainder of the Games, she said.
Xinhua
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