...Yao's birth had been anticipated for decades by Communist officials -
desperate to boost national pride through sports - who had been tracking his
family for two generations.
He describes a system where doctors armed with
special growth-predicting manuals measure youngsters' bones and pubic hair to
identify future athletes. Weightlifters must be squat with strong torsos; divers
need tiny hips to minimise splash; basketball players must simply be tall.
This harks back to the Soviet Union's athletic prowess during the Cold War - where they used sport as a strong vehicle to go one up on the US, and in the process using shady science and coercion to force young Russians into taking up sport. China has had its share of drug allegations, but Yao's case seems quite startling. Lamar says
Yao's grandfather, one of Shanghai's tallest men, was discovered too late for
basketball but his son, the six foot nine Yao Zhiyuan, soon found himself
dragged into the sports system.
There he was paired off with the six foot two
Fang Fengdi, China's women's captain who had been a feared Red Guard during the
murderous Cultural Revolution.
The two were encouraged to marry in a system
with undertones of eugenics, the controversial gene-pool manipulation espoused
by the Nazis and previously trumpeted by Beijing.
Apparently Yao himself hated the game until he was 10, but didn't really have a choice. While there is no proof that he was given harmone treatment, Lamar says it is very likely indeed.
Shocking, if any of this is indeed true. China is a very unique place, and the mystery surrounding the Great Wall just got deeper. This also shows just hoe important it is for China to win in sports, and also perhaps why they will be the No.1 country in Beijing 2008.
Categories: China, sport
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