Anecdotes about Olympic
Stars
Weightlifter Shi Zhiyong's humorously talking
about Chuanshi Island Training Camp
The brand new training hall, first-class equipment
s, advanced supporting
facilities, all these remind Shi Zhiyong of the painstaking, yet fun time of
training on Chuanshi Island (Fuzhou) in 1995, when he was with Fujian
Weightlifting Team.
Worked as Cooking Assistants during their spare time
In 1995, Mr. Chen Wenbin, the coach, led the team to Chuanshi Island for
intensive training, Shi Zhiyong recalled. As they only had one chef, cooking
meals for the whole team became a tough job. Everyone henceforth assigned a
spare time "job"- taking turns help in the kitchen. "At that time, after
training, we should help the chef to cut the firewood, prepare chickens and
ducks etc. Two of us shared one dormitory, and we had seven dorms, therefore
each room took a day in a week. After one week, the cycle begins all over again.
Though weary, we regarded it as a good experience."
An Old 14-inch Color TV, the Only entertainment Facility
The training base in Chuanshi Island was a wasted navy radar station. The
only pastime for the whole team was to watch an old color TV with only two
channels. "Every evening, dozens of people crowded in front of the TV set, often
disputed on which channel to watch." Shi Zhiyong said, obviously amused.
Traversing the Air-raid Shelter to Buy Necessities
As it was a close-door training, life on the island was almost completely
isolated from the rest of the world. The navy-run convenience store on the
mountainside, was the only place to buy daily articles. It would take about two
hours to walk from the training base on the mountain top through a twisting path
to the shop. Everybody suffered and complained of the inconvenience. Shi Zhiyong
accidentally found a short cut to the shop - the air-raid tunnel! "In the
lightless air-raid tunnel, Wu Meijin and I each held a lighter in hand. By the
dim light, we staggered back and forth carrying the commodities. There were many
bats and snakes in the tunnel, but we were ignorant of the danger."
