New Swimming Star in the Making

By Huang Wei

Luo Xuejuan, a female swimmer and native of Hangzhou, won a gold medal in the 100 breaststroker in a new Olympic record of 1:06.64 at 2004 Athens Olympic Games. It was her career highlight. She retired after her was found afflicted with a heart problem.

Ever since the retirement of the queen of breaststroke, Chinese people have been wondering whether there will be another queen and if yes, who would that be. Now, there seems to be an answer.

The answer is Chen Huijia, a 19-year-old girl from Wenzhou, a port city in southern Zhejiang. She and three other Chinese girl swimmers won 4 X 100-meter medley world title at the FINA Swimming Championships in Rome on August 2, 2009 BeijingTime. The Chinese team set a new world record of three minutes 52.19 seconds. Chen gave her team a narrow but decisive lead in the second leg. Chen clocked1:04.12, 0.72 second faster than the current world record. She is regarded as a great hope of ending the drought in medals in this event since the retirement of Luo Xuejuan, the Olympic and world champion.

When Zhang Yadong, the former chief coach of China national swimming team and coach behind the success of Luo Xuejuan, learned about Chens record-breaking stunt in Rome, he predicted that Chen would surely b a swimmer better than Luo Xuejuan.

Those who know Chen Huijia say hard work is the hallmark of the promising swimmer. She is famous for her dedication and hard work.

Born in April, 1990, she was discovered by a swimming coach in the kindergarten when she was barely seven. In a standing long jump match, she out-jumped all other kids by reaching 1.75 meter. Her amazing explosive force looked very promising. So she started training at Wenzhou Junior Sports School in 1997. She joined the provincial swimming team in 2001. After joining the national team in 2005, she won two national championships. She came out first in the qualifications in the event of 100 meter breaststroke for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. She did not shine at the Beijing Olympics.

Coaches agree that Chen is a natural and she is going to be the next star.

Since Chen Huijia joined the provincial team in 2001, her parents havent got much chance to see her. She comes home once a year. Her mother says that the daughter is mature and considerate and knows how to take care of herself and care for others. Every time she comes home, she brings a lot of gifts. She calls her parents from Beijing once a week and chats about everyday life. Her father has somewhat become an authority on the event his daughter competes. He watches sports news on television and keeps track of his daughters rivals in the world. Two photograph albums on the tea table at home have been turned so many times that the edges of the pages have turned worn. His father says he does not worry about the daughters future. She is now a student of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Zhang Yadong, now back in Hangzhou working as vice president of Zhejiang Sports Academy, observes that the young swimmer will go far and that it is important to leave her out of the spotlight now so that she can concentrate on what she must do. □