Chinese and US Olympic committees exchange gifts following Beijing event
Gou Zhongwen, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, displays an honorary trophy on Tuesday given by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. (PHOTO / THE CHINESE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE)
Despite cultural differences and political disputes, China and the United States have found common ground in sports, with both countries' Olympic chiefs expecting cooperation to strengthen following the success of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Gou Zhongwen, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, and US counterpart Susanne Lyons agreed during a teleconference on Tuesday that the two countries' sports communities should build upon the excellent experiences at the Olympics to keep working together in sports development, people-to-people exchanges and the promotion of Olympic values.
Gou and Lyons also congratulated each other on their delegation's impressive performances at last month's Games, where China finished third on the medal table with nine gold, four silver and two bronze, and the US bagged eight gold, 10 silver and seven bronze to finish in fourth place.
"Athletes from China and the US competing at Beijing 2022 built friendships off the field of play and have started what is considered as 'Winter Olympic diplomacy'," said Gou, who is also head of the General Administration of Sport.
"We hope the national Olympic committees of our countries can continue preserving the Olympic Charter, promoting the Olympic spirit and enhancing the exchange between our peoples through the unique role of sports."
As president of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Lyons expressed appreciation for China hosting such a successful Winter Olympics despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US committee also presented an honorary trophy to the Chinese side, which Gou displayed during Tuesday's call, as a special thanks for the warm hospitality offered by its Chinese host and a way to show respect for its organizational work.
"I think that these Games transcended the politics of the moment and the difficulties that the governments are having across different countries," said Lyons, who revealed that the US delegation had left most of the new training equipment used during the Olympics in China as gifts for the Chinese Olympic Committee's national program.
"Our athletes competed peacefully and in a friendly fashion and set an example for all the people of the world," she said, adding that the two committees should continue to strengthen sports cooperation "for more fruitful results".
Gou said the Chinese Olympic Committee sent the US side an official Beijing 2022 torch in return, expecting it to carry the memories of the Beijing Games and the friendship of the Chinese sports sector to the US.
One memorable moment at the Beijing Games, the interaction between China's mixed doubles curlers Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi and US opponents Victoria Persinger and Christopher Plys after a round-robin game on Feb 5 earned high international acclaim for demonstrating the pursuit of peace and friendship at the Olympics.
After losing the game 5-7 to the US, Fan and Ling greeted Persinger and Plys, and presented the US duo with Beijing 2022 commemorative pins featuring the Games' popular mascot Bing Dwen Dwen as gifts during the postgame handshakes.
The gesture was warmly received by the US curlers, who later sent the Chinese athletes gifts in return.
"We haven't received anything like this, so the fact that they gifted us while we're in their country is super kind … It will just be something great that we can hang onto to remember this event in the future," Persinger said after the game.
Plys, a veteran who made his Olympic debut at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, said: "When we're at these curling events, with both sides getting a chance to play the game that we love, there's just a lot of mutual respect for each other. I've never felt one time any animosity toward us or our country, and we try to show them the same respect. At the end of the day, man, we all bleed the same blood and play the same game."
