TAKING AIM: Wang Yifu prepares to shoot at a target

JIAO WEIPING

On July 30, 1984, China won its first Olympic gold, in Los Angeles. The man who won the medal for China, Chinese shooter Xu Haifeng, has since become a household name. Back then, little attention was paid to another man, Wang Yifu, who competed with Xu in the same event, the men's 50-meter pistol, and won the bronze. Years later, Wang himself became a legend in the Chinese Olympic team--now he is the most experienced Olympic veteran in China, and has competed in six successive Olympic Games, more than any other athlete in the country. Between 1984 and 2004 he won two golds, three silvers and one bronze at the Olympics.

When Wang won his first Olympic medal, he was 24 years old. Now, at 48, Wang is busy preparing to participate in the seventh Olympic Games of his life, but in a different capacity, as the head coach of the Chinese National Shooting Team.

It has been several years since Wang succeeded Xu as the head coach of the shooting team. Wang did not rule out the possibility that he would compete in the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games as an athlete if needed until very recently.

"Personally speaking, I would like to compete in the Beijing Games as an athlete. It is a rare chance for one to compete in the Olympic Games held in one's motherland," he said. Yet now as a coach, he has greater responsibility on his shoulders. "I need to keep the big picture in mind. Training more members of the Chinese team into Olympic champions would be a greater honor for me than earning another gold for myself."

Although Wang is amicable in daily life, he has iron rules for the team. Qualification for the Beijing Games hinges on an athlete's performance in screening contests as well as in other international competitions. Wang insisted that for the interests of the country, the screening process must be fair. Winners should have excellent technical skills and be in great mental condition. Among those athletes eliminated during the screening process have been some of Wang's close friends and former Olympic gold medallists.

Although many athletes look forward to the opportunity to compete in their home country, historical experience shows that athletes participating in the shooting events tend to perform poorly under these circumstances. When asked about this, Wang expressed that his team has taken some relevant measures to avoid the problem and gave an example of one of the measures taken. "From 2005, we began to offer anti-interference training in simulated Olympic Games," he said. During the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup held from April 8 to 20, the Chinese team sent all the members who are qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games over, to enrich their experience in international competition.

Walking dictionary

Wang competed in the first Olympic Games in his life in 1984 when the People's Republic of China returned to the Olympic Games for the first time. Wang has participated in all the Olympic Games since then and has witnessed the history of the Chinese Olympic team developing. Because of this he has been nicknamed the walking dictionary of the Chinese Olympic team.

During Wang's more than two-decade engagement with the Olympics, he has experienced many ups and downs. Wang's first gold medal came at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. After 1992, Wang fell ill and battled disease for 12 years. At the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, Wang finished second. Then, at the 2004 Games, Wang won another gold in the 10-meter air pistol. Nevertheless, the Games that Wang remembers the most is Atlanta. At that time, Wang suffered from hypoglycemia and cerebral microcirculation problems. He tried his best to hold himself together, and fired the last shot before he fainted at the shooting range. He won silver, only 0.1 point behind the champion. Wang himself epitomizes the Olympic spirit for his perseverance.

From slingshot to pistol

Wang was born into an ordinary family and his favorite childhood toy was slingshot. "My mother worked in a hospital, where there were many empty bottles. I brought them back home and lined them up on the windowsill as targets to practice slingshot."

Being fed up with firing at the bottles, Wang wanted a real gun. Wang's father used to be in the army, and he noticed his son's flair for shooting. After discussing with his wife, the father decided to pay 65 yuan ($9.29 ) to buy his son an air gun. This was Wang's first-ever gun. "Sixty-five was not a small sum back then. It was enough to cover the living expenses of a family for one month," said Wang. Wang's parents cut their expenses to pay for bullets. An army officer was impressed with Wang's enthusiasm for shooting and gave him access to a shooting range. At that time, Wang was an elementary school student and his family lived far from the shooting range. Without a bicycle, Wang had to jog to the shooting range and then jog home.

Wang enrolled in Liaoning Amateur Sports School at 16 and half a year later he was recruited into the provincial sports team. Another half year passed and Wang became the champion in a national shooting competition. Thereafter, Wang ruled the shooting range and almost monopolized the national champion title for some years.

Wang also attributed his success to his wife, Zhang Qiuping. A scene at the Atlantic Games touched many people when Wang woke up after fainting on the shooting range, and his wife held his arm and walked him away. Like Wang, Zhang was also a top shooter in the Chinese team and gold medallist in international competitions, including the World Cup and World Championship. The couple were classmates since 2000, when they started to take courses in the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University. Currently, Zhang serves as the head coach of Tsinghua Shooting Team.