World champion swimmer Luo expected to shine at Chinese City Games

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, October 18, 2003

World champion swimmer Luo expected to shine at Chinese City Games

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Triple world swimming champion Luo Xuejuan and her winning medley relay teammates at the world championships earlier this year will give their best shots for their hometowns at the Chinese City Games to be started here on Saturday.

Tipped as the cradle of the stars, the Chinese City Games sets different age limits in each sport. In swimming, only athletes under the age of 20 are eligible to compete and each team is allowed to have two over-20 wild cards.

Luo, gold medalist in 50 and 100 meters breaststroke events anda member of 4X100m medley quartet in the worlds in Barcelona, Spain last July, will defend her reputation in her favorite events.

"Do not expect for a personal best for me at the Games, but I will try to win as more golds as I can. The competition is a partin my training regime for next year's Olympic Games," said the 19-year-old from Hangzhou, East China.

While Luo and other world-class swimmers aim to grab golds, young faces dream for spots in the inaugural national junior team which is to be formed at the end of the year.

Shang Xiutang, vice-president of the Chinese Swimming Association (CSA), said that the CSA will form a 100-member second-string team as part of the preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

"We will select talents of 13 to 14 years old from the Games for the junior national team. The Games might be the springboard to their bright future," Shang said.

Chen Yan, former world champion and world record holder in the women's 400m individual medley and other big names had all burst out at the previous City Games.

A total of 439 swimmers will show up at the eight-day swimming competition, which takes the same timetable as the Olympic Games and world championships.

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