As an individual incentive, China is considering increasing cash bonuses for its Olympic medal winners in Athens. In a country where residents on average earn about $1,000 a year, gold medalists already earn an $18,000 bonus.
The country's "gold-medal strategy," a battle plan approved by Beijing bureaucrats, focuses on developing women's sports, which officials here say are underfunded in many countries. Illustrating Mao's Tse-tung's saying that "women hold up half the sky," China's women won more than half the nation's medals in Sydney. And in this year's delegation, women outnumber men, 269 to 138.
"There's no question that they are making a significant effort, in fact leaving nothing to chance to win the medal count in 2008," Scherr said. "That is their stated goal as a national Olympic committee, and I think as a country for those Games. They certainly want to showcase the best qualities of their society and winning the medal count would help them do that -- as well as hosting excellent Games, which they're sparing no expense in doing."
Chinese officials intend to spend $30 billion readying Beijing for the 2008 Games, more than double the original cost projection.
At any rate, Scherr said, "we have our work cut out for us."
The Chinese, meanwhile, must convince skeptics that their Olympic sports program is no longer seeking success through doping.
During the 1990s, 32 Chinese swimmers were caught for drug offenses. In 1998, Australian customs inspectors found 13 vials of human growth hormone hidden in the luggage of one Chinese swimmer.
Just days before the start of the Sydney Games, China withdrew 27 athletes, including 14 track and field athletes, from its Olympic team, saying an anti-doping program had turned up "suspicious" results. The Chinese also pulled 13 officials, including controversial track coach Ma Junren, who claimed his runners won because they trained at altitude and ate a diet spiced with turtle blood and caterpillar fungus.
Chinese officials say they now have one of the world's strictest anti-doping policies, though steroids remain easy to obtain here.
Although China has traditionally been strong in such events as gymnastics, diving, table tennis and badminton, its Olympic officials also are concentrating on more glamorous sports such as basketball and track and field. Anchored by the towering NBA star Yao Ming, China may be well on its way to developing its own Olympic hoops Dream Team.
