Coming second doesn’t count in China

It’s one of the memorable moments of the London Olympic Games. Chinese weightlifter Wu Jingbiao has just won the silver medal in his class, and a journalist wants to interview him. But without giving the interviewer a chance to pose a question, Wu begins howling that he has let down his fatherland by only managing to come second. 
It’s not the kind of reaction a Dutch audience would expect of its athletes, but Wu’s emotional outburst is revealing of how top Chinese athletes experience the Olympics. They’re there for one thing and one thing only: to win a gold medal for China. Anything less than gold is seen as failure. And not just by the athletes themselves.
Winner takes all
The Chinese media is also totally focussed on success. China’s television networks happily broadcast hours of panegyric programming celebrating the Fatherland’s winners. But woe betides those who fall short: ‘fail’ and you will be totally ignored. 
Take Yu Dan for instance. The 24-year old sports shooter won bronze in the 10 metre air rifle. Her countrywoman Yi Siling triumphantly secured gold – and all the attention. Yu Dan slipped unnoticed from the podium, and her name wasn’t even mentioned in the official message of congratulations from China’s State Council.
Valiant losers
This sort of treatment would be unthinkable in the Netherlands. Dutch athletes will be honoured, even when they lose.  Judoka Henk Grol was widely tipped for gold in the men’s 100kg but suffered a shock defeat in the semi-finals and had to settle for bronze. The Dutch media were full of praise for his achievement, and Grol was greeted with jubilant cheers at Heineken House – the meeting place in London for Dutch Olympians. The judoka himself did express some disappointment at missing out on the gold, but was able to live with his third place.  
And then there’s Rick van der Ven. The 21-year-old archer was practically unknown in the Netherlands before the Games. But he became a national hero when he eliminated the Korean champion Im Dong-hyun in the early stages of the competition. Van der Ven went on to finish in that most thankless Olympic spot - fourth place. His reaction: “I’m more than happy with fourth”. The Dutch media too were more than happy, falling over themselves to praise the young athlete 
Light ahead
So will the Chinese ‘failures’ ever be celebrated in similar fashion in their homeland? Yu Dan and Wu Jingbiao might not be exactly encouraging examples, but there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon for Chinese athletes. There was plenty of internet attention for Yu Dan, and criticism of the government’s only-gold-counts mentality. In the opinion of most bloggers, silver and bronze medal winners deserve just as much attention as those blessed ones who take their place on the highest podium.  
The New York-based Chinese news programme New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) also sounded a critical note. In an interview with the broadcaster, former pro-basketballer Ju Bin said: “Athletes need to wake up and make sport in China the property of the people again and not of the government”.  Chinese athletes will be hoping his words are prophetic. Lovers of sensational television may not agree.