Deborah Ziff
Nine elite Chinese athletes and coaches will be greeted at the Dane County Regional airport Friday night in true UW-Madison fashion – by Bucky Badger and the UW Marching Band.
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, other university administrators and Chinese students will be there as well.
The athletes will spend the fall semester here as part of the UW-Madison Chinese Champions Program, a formal exchange with Beijing Sports University.
They are world-class competitors in track, speed skating, swimming, table tennis, skiing, curling and gymnastics. Among them is Luo Xuejuan, who earned a gold medal in the breaststroke in the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens.
During the semester, the athletes and coaches will take seminars in English as a second language and kinesiology and will have opportunities to work with various athletic groups.
People can submit ideas for tours, visits and appearances to welcome the group.
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