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Hong Kong is awash with international sporting talent in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.
As well as staging the Olympic Equestrian Events, Hong Kong is the training base of choice for athletes from more than a dozen countries in various disciplines who have their sights set on Olympic glory in Beijing.
World-class hockey players, swimmers, badminton players and track and field athletes are among those who are making final preparations to their Olympic challenge in Hong Kong before heading to Beijing.
Equestrian teams from Canada, Holland, Germany and Australia were among the first to arrive to gear up for the Olympic Equestrian Events at local venues in Sha Tin and Beas River.
For the Dutch swimming team, Hong Kong is the perfect place to put the finishing touches to its Olympic preparations, according to Cees-Rein van den Hoogenband, the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation Chairman - and father of swimming sensation Pieter van den Hoogenband.
"The facilities are superb. The Gold Coast Hotel, where we are, is a very good hotel, very good meals and the accommodation is fantastic," Mr Van den Hoogenband said, adding that the team's dietician had discussed nutritional requirements for the athletes with the hotel.
"He made arrangements for special food. It is superb, more than 100%."
Mr Van den Hoogenband said the main reason for choosing Hong Kong for the pre-Olympic build-up was the comparable climatic conditions to Beijing and the high-quality training facilities.
"We have two pools where we can have our training sessions. One is here at the (Hong Kong) Institute of Education. They have good blocks. The other is at Lingnan University. They both have eight lanes which is sufficient for our team," he said.
The Dutch swimming team includes two-time Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband and the female quartet of Inge Dekker, Femke Heemskerk, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Marleen Veldhuis - which broke the 400-metre freestyle world record in March.
Their hotel is away from the city centre overlooking the South China Sea, while one of their rivals in the pool, the Czech swimming team, is based at the Regal Kowloon Hotel in the heart of bustling Tsim Sha Tsui East.
Although the surroundings are different, the Czech Swimming Federation is also delighted with its pre-Olympic arrangements.
Technical director of the Czech Swimming Federation Jan Novotny said his swimmers had settled in well in their temporary home.
"The facilities in Hong Kong are similar to the Czech Republic and we are satisfied with the pool, with the hotel, with the food, with everything," Mr Novotny said.
"The time in Hong Kong is the same as Beijing and I think the weather in Hong Kong will be the same as in Beijing so we hope the swimmers will adapt to the conditions (at the Olympics)."
While the Czech swimmers get a taste of Hong Kong's unique city life, the Dutch are happy to be surrounded by friends and build on their team spirit going into the Olympics.
"Our equestrian team is here and our football team is here, too. The equestrian team came to watch our guys training and to have dinner with us," Mr Van den Hoogenband said.
"The whole team is grateful for the hospitality. We are proud to be here. We feel comfortable."
He said some of the team coaches went to support Holland in the pre-Olympic ING Cup football tournament at Hong Kong Stadium. Holland won the tournament, which also included Cameroon, Ivory Coast and the USA.
Hong Kong is best known as an international business and financial centre, but it is fast earning its stripes as Asia's world city for sports.
The Honorary Secretary General of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, Mr Pang Chung, said Hong Kong's global exposure and similar climatic conditions made it the very best training and acclimatisation base for athletes preparing to start competition for the Beijing games.
The Leisure & Cultural Services Department has been working hard to make the visiting teams' stay in Hong Kong as smooth as possible through its "Hong Kong - Ideal Training Base for 2008 Beijing Olympics" programme.
LCSD Director Mr Thomas Chow said there were altogether 16 national sports teams that were conducting, or will conduct, training in Hong Kong to prepare for the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"LCSD has been pleased and honoured to offer assistance to teams looking for help in arranging accommodation, training facilities and transportation," Mr Chow said.
Although much of the pre-Olympic training takes place away from the glare of the media, hockey - a popular sport in Hong Kong - has been drawing the crowds with teams from New Zealand, Great Britain and Canada playing Olympic warm-up games at the Hong Kong Football Club.
New Zealand's men's and women's hockey teams are based in Hong Kong along with the men's team from Canada. They share the state-of-the-art training facilities at the Football Club.
The University of Hong Kong - the city's oldest university - also happens to be the home to some of the newest and best sports facilities in town, making the venue a huge draw card for overseas teams using Hong Kong as their pre-Olympic training base.
Track and field teams from Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Fiji and Vanuatu, as well as a multi-sports team from Austria, and Trinidad and Tobago's swimming squad are all making the most of the university's extensive facilities.
Some teams have taken up residence on campus during their stay in Hong Kong, while other squads are staying at nearby hotels before moving on to Beijing for the ultimate challenge.
Good luck to all the teams at the Olympic Games.
Ends/Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:36
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