UW–NEWS (March 26, 2010) – Eleven accomplished Chinese student-athletes will spend six months living and studying at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as part of a groundbreaking partnership with Beijing University of Sport, the foremost sports, physical education and exercise science institution in China.
The group includes several Olympic medal winners.
The Chinese Champions Workshop will provide the student-athletes, who are currently enrolled in graduate studies at Beijing University of Sport, with the nondegree seminar to build their English, science, leadership and coaching skills.
The first-of-its-kind collaboration was to be jointly announced by UW–Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin and her Beijing University of Sport counterpart, Yang Hua, during a meeting in Beijing on Saturday, March 27.
“We’re both excited and honored to host these athletes, who have excelled in elite competition,” says Martin. “They will have exposure to a world-class university environment and experience that complement their home graduate studies. We can offer much, and look forward to the opportunity to get to know them.”
The athletes, who experienced success in the Olympics and other world-class competitions, come from varied sports, such as track, speed skating, swimming, table tennis, skiing, curling or gymnastics, among other areas.
Among them, the best known are Luo Xuejuan, a swimmer who earned a gold medal in the breastroke, and Xing Huina, who won a gold medal in women’s 10,000-meter run, both in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
In China, successful Olympic athletes are national heroes. The 11 are now involved in graduate studies at Beijing University of Sport.
Read the full article, written by John Lucas, with University Communications.