The mini-Olympics site at the Olympic Youth Camp (OYC) was crowded yesterday. Campers from around the world were busy playing a range of sports and games, some for the first time.

Shirleen Manzu from Bengal was the first girl to join the Football Raozhuang Relay and the last to finish. But she enjoyed the game nonetheless. "I don't care if my competitors are boys, because participation is the most important thing," she said.

Rumik's cube enthusiast Christofer Eskilssio from Sweden was playing with the puzzle game as reporters walked by. "My record is 34 seconds," he said. "I don't think I can make it with this cube, because it's so new, it is so hard."

"How about finding someone to compete with?" one of the reporters suggested. A Finish camper, Dietrich Miika, came over just in time. The two set about seeing who could arrange the squares into the right order first. And before long, Chinese camper Cao Hui was joining in the fun too.

Robert Kachiza, another camp participant, is a boxing athlete from Malawi. "I'm famous in my country," he laughed proudly. Boxing has been his life. Kachiza started training when he was still small, and began playing on the stage at age 12. After his coach died, he started teaching himself.

While Robert practiced on the playground, Albi Sorra from Albania and Abdoulaziz Issa Garba from Niger joined him. They shadow boxed with breath-taking speed. All three are experienced boxers.

Pedro Daniel Gomez Cruz, a track and field athlete from Mexico, picked up a diabolo, or Chinese yo-yo, cradling the sand-glass shaped rubber toy on a single piece of string stretched between two stick rods. The Chinese coaches were duly impressed by Pedo's newly-learned yo-yo skills.

Diaz Bent Ancor Federico Ederico Marcelo is from Uruguay. He started Taekwondo training five years ago and now holds a red belt in the sport. When asked what attracted him to the sport, he responded, "Taekwondo looks like just fighting, but if you don't use your mind, you can never enjoy it."

Mr. Brown Philiphert, the President of the Liberia Olympic Committee visited the Olympic Youth Camp today. The President, a former basketball player, joined a few Liberian campers in a game of ball Monday morning.

"I think it is a great opportunity for them (the two campers from Liberia) to experience a new culture. To them, coming here is a chance to open their minds," said Mr.Brown.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        More>>

                         First | Prev | Next | Last | Total:24 | PerPage:20| 1/2 Page Goto Page12