Sports - 3rd prize
Greg Baker
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
17 April, 2000
A young gymnast displays his blistered hands. The state-sponsored Shichahai sports school in Beijing selects and coaches young athletes to become future Olympians. Training is rigorous. Medical screening and X-rays keep track of the children's physical development, and discipline is taught at an early age. The gymnastics regime is one of the most demanding. Days begin at 7.00 am and end at 9.30 pm, with academic work in the morning and gymnastics in the afternoons.