Five-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Johnson started work yesterday in his bid to make China's athletes more competitive, but admitted that miracles would not happen overnight.
The low-profile American track legend, who holds world records in the 200m and 400m, is giving talks and trackside guidance to China's Athens-bound Olympics team until Friday in a program sponsored by Nike.
"As the first foreign coach to help train in China I don't have the ability to transform Chinese track and field overnight," he said.
"This is a long process, but I hope to establish relations with the athletes and to maintain these.
"I hope I will be able to come back to China before the 2008 Games [in Beijing]. I hope that my experience will give something new to Chinese athletes. I hope I can make a contribution."
Johnson will give lectures in the mornings then move to the training ground in the afternoons.
"Mainly we want to listen to the athletes' and coaches' ideas and exchange views with them, to find out what they need and want they want from us," he said.
"I'm not here to give them spiritual inspiration, I want to give concrete ideas on how to improve themselves."
China acknowledges there is a huge gap between the country's top level athletes and the world's best, but with the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 it wants at least to be on a more competitive footing.
Its main medal hopefuls in Athens are top hurdler Liu Xiang, who recently broke the Asian 110m hurdles, and women's long distance runner Sun Yingjie, a world championship 5,000m bronze medallist.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
RSS