Beijing organizers set early pace

ATHENS — At a news conference in Greece, International Olympic Committee President Jacque Rogge reported that no one in the IOC is worried about Beijing being ready for the next Olympics in 2008, the first ever in China.

"I am usually in the position of telling people to hurry up. I am now saying, 'slow down,' " said Rogge, indicating that the eager Chinese organizers, with four years to go, are about where slow-moving Athens was with four months to go.

Shouyan Xue, the media operations director for Beijing 2008, said that while it's true the Chinese are extremely organized, "We have really only started construction of four stadiums. All the others are still under discussion. We will be ready. We plan to finish all construction work by the end of 2007 at the latest. But we are not too ready."

Xue said the Beijing Games plan to recruit 100,000 volunteers, about 30,000 more than Athens (and 75,000 more than Salt Lake 2002). "We are a much bigger place than Athens," he said. With a population over 15 million, the city of Beijing has about 5 million more people than the country of Greece.

MORE BEIJING: Salt Lake City paraded the Olympic torch through nearly all of the 50 states in America, while Athens took the torch on a historic worldwide route that touched each of the five land masses representing the Olympic rings (Oceania, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa). How can Beijing top that?

"Our plan has the torch going over Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain," said Xue. "I don't know if that will happen, but that is being considered in our original plan. We think it would be a nice touch."

A reporter from Iowa, where Heber City's Cael Sanderson was a collegiate sensation while wrestling at Iowa State, asked Sanderson at a press conference if he is comfortable with his celebrity status after going undefeated in 159 collegiate matches. "How do you feel, being the face of wrestling?" the reporter asked.

Flanked by his six teammates on the U.S. wrestling team, Sanderson was obviously uncomfortable with the question. "Uh, I don't really feel I'm the face of the sport," he stammered, looking from side to side. "I know I'm going to get teased from these guys — you shouldn't have asked me that."

The $25,000 the U.S. Olympic Committee is awarding to American gold medalists in Athens pales alongside the offers of some other countries. The Philippines government has pledged $100,000 to the first gold medalist from that country, while India will give $175,000 for each of its gold medalists and Greece is offering approximately $200,000 per gold medal.