In an unusual move to secure a gymnastics golden harvest at next year's Olympic Games, Chinese gymnasts and their coaches will sign contracts with the sport's state governing center to ensure everyone in the 2008 lineup will be injury free and drug free, a top team official said.

 

"In the coming days, all the Chinese national coaches will sign contracts with the gymnastics administrative center to prevent serious injuries from happening before the Beijing Games. Also all the gymnasts will sign with the center to prevent any doping offenses," China's gymnastics team leader Zhang Peiwen said on the sidelines of the 2007 Good Luck Beijing Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament, which ended on Monday in the newly built National Indoor Stadium.

 

"I don't know exactly when they will sign because we are still working on the details of the contracts. But I think it will be pretty soon."

 

In a high-risk sport where every athlete is trying to jump higher and rotate faster in fractions of seconds, injuries are almost inevitable. This is especially true since the FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) enacted a new scoring system, which encourages gymnasts to go for more difficult routines.

 

But for the Chinese gymnasts who have prevailed on the world stage in recent years, it's no longer a matter of how difficult their routines are - it's also a matter of how healthy they are come next August.

 

"We don't want the injuries to pull our legs and destroy our prospects for the Beijing Games," Zhang said. "I hope we can reduce injuries to a minimum by signing these contracts."

 

Chinese officials fear any injury - particularly one to their elite athletes - will put their efforts to waste, as they are taking arguably the best Chinese team in history into the Beijing Games. The Chinese already pocketed 13 gold medals in the last two World Championships, including an eight-gold haul at the Aarhus Worlds.

 

Fears of injury have grown considerably since China's top male gymnast, Li Xiaopeng, a 14-time world and Olympic champion, has struggled to recover from a bone fracture in his foot suffered during training in March.

 

The 26-year-old's slow recovery has caused him to miss all of the 2007 season, including the Good Luck invitational in which he planned to compete. His long-term absence has raised concerns about whether he will be ready to join the Chinese team in Beijing next year.

 

"His recovery has been slow," confessed Zhang. "We took a conservative healing approach to his injury, but his situation is not stable."

 

Fortunately, China is abundant with gymnastics talent, and young stars have already filled Li's giant shoes. Without Li, who is considered the most successful Chinese gymnast together with Li Ning, the Chinese team is still capable of dominating the competition like it has in the last two Worlds, earning back-to-back titles in men's team, men's individual all-around, pommel horse and rings.

 

"This is our best Olympic preparation ever," Zhang said. "Apart from Li, none of the team is troubled by injuries. They can put their best efforts into the coming winter training camp."

 

To help prevent injuries, the center has also hired a back-up team of psychologists and dozens of masseurs from around the country. Elite gymnasts are also examined once a week at Peking University Third Hospital, which is known for its sports rehabilitation.

 

The contracts also suggest the team, which is already performing some of the most difficult routines in the world, is trying to reach a balance between its level difficulty and its level of stability before next year's all-important show.

 

"We will mainly go for stability during the winter training," Zhang said. "I hope we can do it safely and smoothly."

 

Careless drug offenses are another major concern for the Chinese camp, so gymnasts will sign contracts forbidding drug use as well.

 

"I do not mean our gymnasts will take drugs intentionally, but I am just afraid that they might take them by mistake, such as unauthorized nutritious medicines," Zhang said.

 

"The purpose of signing the contract is to give all gymnasts a warning and to avoid any accidents."

 

Although injury cast a shadow over Li Xiaopeng's Olympic prospects, there was better news for Lu Bin, the 28-year-old veteran who returned strongly from his Achilles tendon injury to win four gold medals at the Good Luck invitational. The tournament was the first competition since the injury for Lu, who was sidelined for 14 months, but he performed as if he had never left, finishing first in men's rings, vault, pommel horse and men's team.

 

"That is a remarkable achievement," Zhang said, heaping praise upon Lu. "Faced with serious injury, he did not give up. I just love that spirit, and that will inspire the whole team to better prepare for the Olympic Games."

 

Lu's comeback put him back into a heated race for an Olympic ticket on the Chinese men's team.

 

"Lu's good form is a big stimulation for the team. Every gymnast will feel the pressure and realize he will be eliminated if he doesn't work hard enough," said Zhang.

 

Currently, the team named a preliminary 10-member squad. The list will be shortened to six before the 2008 Games.

 

"The chance is 50-50 for everyone," Zhang said. "Even Lu knows only next year's form counts."

 

(China Daily December 7, 2007)