Wu Dan, head coach of China's national BMX freestyle team, said China had increased its efforts to promote the sport in recent years, attributing the recent victory at the Paris Olympics to the combination of domestic training experience and overseas knowledge, as well as the support from national and local authorities.
Chinese athlete Deng Yawen won a spectacular gold medal in the BMX freestyle event at the Paris Olympic Games on July 31.
"After the establishment of the BMX national team, we have not only invited foreign coaches, but also introduced great training know-how from China's other strong sports such as gymnastics, diving, table tennis and badminton. We then combined the domestic training experience with the foreign coaches' Western training methods," Wu told a reporter at a training base in Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
He added that for the success in the Olympics, credit also goes to the fast expansion of BMX facilities across China.
"Many high-level venues have been built for us with the support of government authorities at all levels," said the coach.
Ge Hui, an assistant coach of Sichuan's provincial BMX team and also one of the first BMX freestyle riders in China, stressed the passion and enthusiasm of the athletes, as well as the support from their family members.
"Parents these days are generally very supportive of their children, and the kids are very passionate about BMX. I have the phone numbers of some parents, and they have been in close contact with me to keep an eye on their children's training performance," said Ge.
Coach of Paris Olympics gold medalist explains China's breakthrough in BMX
