As of 2024, China has won 639 medals at the Olympic Games. The entire story started not that long ago. Until 1984, they had no medals at the prestigious event, and they haven’t looked back since then. China is a nation by definition governed by subject experts and dedicated officials.
Sports have flourished a lot because of its independence from the political arena and the emphasis placed on winning rather than just participating. In other words, China prepares Olympic winners, while other countries in Asia neither have the sporting infrastructure nor the nurturing system that can create a lineage of elite-level athletes.
1) Building a Powerful Image Through Sports
China has a complex global image, but they are increasingly using sports to project a more positive one. Participation in high-level athletics reflects well on a nation. A country struggling with widespread poverty wouldn’t be able to produce such skilled athletes. This success suggests a well-functioning sports governing body.
Dedication, strong work ethic, and meticulous planning are likely key factors. China’s rise in Olympic success is widely recognized. This achievement contributes to their image as a developed nation in the sporting world. It’s no coincidence that China’s main competitors at the Olympics are established powers like the USA and Great Britain.
2) Building Sporting Infrastructure
To train more than 10,000 athletes throughout China, well-equipped training centers are essential, not just for press releases but for creating a reality where they can produce gold medalists. China is impressively running a fitness program in more than 600,000 villages, with over 2,000 elite sporting academies accessible to athletes. By the year 2020 alone, national sporting facilities in China increased by 89%.
Beyond this, sports are compulsory in schools and colleges, potentially providing extra credit for students. China’s General Administration of Sports has projected to involve over 39% of the population in regular fitness programs by 2025. The administration runs various programs at different levels, actively and passively influencing the general population to participate in sports.
3) Training is Key to Success
On average, a 14-year-old Chinese young athlete trains six days a week consistently throughout their sporting career. The motto of the Chinese Olympic Committee is to focus on training, and it’s this training that translates into actual performance. In China’s social hierarchy, training three times a week with photos and videos isn’t a privilege; it’s a strict adherence to duty, similar to other professions.
There’s no political showboating or embezzlement, unlike some countries. It’s simply about glory for the nation, and individual heroics are rarely a focus in China. Their ethics and discipline truly make Chinese athletes what they are. The training is designed with a gold medal as the ultimate goal.
4) Competing in Less Competitive Events
To win the most gold medals, China has focused on training in events that are traditionally less popular with athletes from Western countries. Notably, more than 70% of China’s total Olympic medals come from just 6 disciplines: Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Shooting, Diving, Badminton, and Gymnastics.
China also strategically included a higher percentage of female athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. Notably, Chinese female athletes performed exceptionally well in weightlifting, which became an Olympic sport in 2000.
In the 1984 Summer Olympics, China only won 15 gold medals compared to the USA’s 83. However, 24 years later at the Beijing Olympics, China surpassed the USA with 48 gold medals. Since then, the top contenders have been the USA, China, and Great Britain.
Despite China’s growth and success at the Olympics, there’s a dark side to this glory. Family members are not even allowed to directly contact to their participating family members in Olympics” changed to “Athletes are reportedly restricted from having direct contact with family during the Olympics.
Also for every one gold medalist, 5000 others are left behind with no substantial education and almost ruined body.
However, critics argue that the system focuses on a small number of medal winners, leaving many athletes with limited educational opportunities and potential health risks.
