Olympic Games London 2012

Quote: 100% Wire "Not bad is it, finish 4th, have a b*tch and moan, get bumped up to Silver Medal (can i say Silver Medal)?

Why are China so successful at every games? Is it simple law of averages? 1 billion population therefore a bigger talent pool, or is it the military-esque strict upbringing they have that makes them successful?'"

Fear of failure perhaps? You get the feeling with most athletes the worst they have to deal with is a bit of embarrassment and perhaps a reduction in state funding. Some of the Chinese athletes give the impression that they are there under duress, having been forced to train and that they would be killed if they return home a loser. I doubt they have the same approach to sport in China. Here no one will come and tell you which sport you should play, but I bet they do in China. I'll bet the promising youngsters are identified at an early age and pretty much forced down one route or another.

I've said it earlier on the thread, there are some very strange things going on with the Asian athletes. I was really shocked by the appearance of a few of them during some of the events. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Chinese were dabbling in genetics, cloning, hormone and drug therapy during their athlete's development. The ages of the Chinese athletes has always been questioned in previous games in events such as gymnastics where there have been strict rules on minimum ages and the US sporting authorities have always been suspicious of the Chinese. I was reading before the games about how many Chinese athletes see almost miraculous transformations in performance and this is what has raised the alarm bells for the US official who complained about the swimmer who beat her PB by 6 seconds.