This is not the first time that the USOC has arranged to bring food to the host country during an Olympics. The organization shipped more food to Athens than it is now sending to China, Saunches said. In an interview with China Youth Daily in March, Roush said the U.S. athletes who are staying at the Olympic Village would eat food provided by the facilities there, while some coaches, trainers and other members of the U.S. delegation at the training headquarters at BNU would consume food transported from the United States.

Chilling out

The university also has implemented strict security measures to ensure that outsiders do not disturb the American athletes. Administrators have divided the campus into two parts from July 20 to August 30-an enclosed area for the gymnasium and apartment buildings rented by the U.S. Olympic team and a guarded area for the rest of the campus. The enclosed area has been cordoned off by wire fencing, and even students and professors are not allowed in. Only BNU students and faculty with valid identification cards are allowed to enter the guarded section.

University administrators also are requiring that windows facing the training center be closed between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. More than 500 security guards are on the university grounds, and 100 more will be added later, according to a recent article in The Beijing News.

(Reporting from New York, with additional reporting by Ding Ying in Beijing)