Glittering gala marks Games' closing
By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-24 05:13

NANJING: The curtain came down on China's 10th National Games widely considered a rehearsal for the 2008 Olympic Games with Premier Wen Jiabao presiding over a dazzling closing ceremony.

Nanjing, the capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, played host to the biggest-ever Games by winning the right to hold the event in Olympic-style bidding.

Chinese girls perform at the closing ceremony of the 10th National Games in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province Sunday October 23, 2005. [Xinhua]

From October 12, 9,986 athletes from 46 delegations competed in 357 events in 32 sports, including all 28 summer Olympic sports.

Jiangsu was also a successful participant its athletes garnered 56 gold medals to top the tally for the first time, beating archrival Guangdong to a distant second with 46.

A total of 22 cities, including six universities and colleges, in the province hosted events, with Nanjing accounting for half the 32 sports. There were remarkable achievements: 19 athletes surpassed six world records; seven equalled six world records; five Asian records were set; and 19 national records fell.

To ensure a clean Games, the number of drug tests reached 1,710 nearly a quarter more than in the last Games in Guangzhou and one female long-distance runner tested positive.

Chinese girls perform at the closing ceremony of the 10th National Games in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province Sunday October 23, 2005. [Xinhua]

"We have full confidence that China is very capable of staging big sports events. We are very confident that the 2008 Olympic Games will be a great success," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge after visiting the National Games, Xinhua has reported.

Australian Kevin Gosper, vice-chairman of the IOC's Co-ordination Commission for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, added: "China's National Games is unique in many respects, like its size, history, and the level of performance. It is one of the top multi-sports events in the world."

(China Daily 10/24/2005 page1)