I was not surprised to see China's Olympic organizers playing down speculation in recent weeks that the host nation of the 2008 Games would amass the most gold medals.
Senior Olympic organizer and Chinese Cabinet member Chen Zhili reportedly said that, "we have never said we were aiming for the top spot, only that we would try our best to perform well and seek to finish among the front-runners."
Deng Yaping, an Olympic gold medalist who is in charge of the Beijing Olympic Village, echoed this view by appealing to the public to lower its expectations of the already stressed Chinese athletes. Deng strove to remind people that the Olympics is more about participating than winning.
What surprised me was the determination and sense of urgency local officials showed in encouraging their athletes to strike gold, seemingly at odds with the move by organizers to quieten the media buzz surrounding China's golden ambitions.
According to official news reports that followed Chen and Deng's public remarks, the Xinjiang government in northwest China has promised to give 500,000 yuan ($64,000) to any Beijing Olympic laureate from the region.
In justifying the decision, the sports chief said the cash rewards for local athletes were lower in Xinjiang than in other provinces. So far, no athletes from the region have won an Olympic medal.
Xinjiang officials now believe they have two medal hopefuls who may make them proud, one in boxing and the other in beach volleyball. If they are crowned champions at the Beijing Games each will earn over 1 million yuan ($128,000), with prizes from the state, local sports authorities and companies.
At the 2004 Games in Athens, China won 32 gold to finish second in the medal tally behind the United States. Each gold medalist was rewarded to the tune of 200,000 yuan ($25,600) by the state and many went on to become millionaires or multi-millionaires after receiving much more attractive cash prizes from their home provinces.
Now that Xinjiang is set to hit the golden trail, it may just be a matter of time before other Chinese provinces or municipalities announce generous rewards for their stars. According to Beijing's sports plan for the Games, athletes from the city are on course to win six gold medals on their home turf. Earlier reports said the city has already set up a special fund to reward top performers.
I believe the financial rewards will help spur the athletes to train harder.
The athletes are deserving of this lucrative windfall for the sacrifices they have made, for example the time they have dedicated to their sport, and the possible ill-effects this may have on their life when they choose to retire. Several million yuan could stand them in good stead for years after their retirement.
One big concern is obviously those athletes who sacrifice their youth but fail to shine at the Games. Should society not also repay them in some way for their contribution?
On the relationship between participation and competition, Pierre de Coubetin, founder of the modern Olympic Movement, once said: "The important thing in life is not victory but struggle; the important thing is not to have won but to have fought well."
With so much honor and money at stake, the athletes would do just as well to fight -- and win.
