Largest Chinese Olympic delegation established in Beijing
( China's largest Olympic delegation ever was established in Beijing at 9:00 on July 25. The 1,099-member delegation will participate in all the competitions of 28 Olympic events and 38 disciplinesand includes 639 athletes from the sports associations of 31 provinces, municipalities andautonomous regions, and of the PLA, the Railway and the Chinese Police.The average age of the athletes is 24.2. Thirty-seven of the athletes participated in the 2000Sydney Olympic Games and 165 participated in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. This will be thethird Olympic Games for diver Guo Jingjing, shooter Tan Zongliang and basketball player Li Nan.Beijing 2008 will be the Olympic debut for 469 Chinese athletes.Liu Peng was appointed head of the delegation, while Yu Zaiqing, Duan Shijie, Xiao Tian, CuiDalin and Cai Zhenhua will serve as deputy heads. Cui Dalin will double as secretary-general.The Games of the 29th Olympiad will be held August 8-24 in Beijing. Events will also take place inShanghai, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.