Canadian athletes and support staff have been very satisfied with the facilities in Beijing, and spoken highly of nearly everything there, including the food, the apartments and the venues, according to a Canadian Press (CP) report Monday from Beijing.
"The athletes are very pleased with the village and the training venues and competition sites. Most have been here for (test events), but to come back and see all the improvements that have been made. We knew the Chinese were going to be ready but we are very pleased with what we see right now," team leader Sylvie Bernier was quoted by CP as saying.
In fact she said that things are going so well that she is looking for something to complain about.
"I am trying to find problems," the former Olympic gold medallist diver said. "We are working out the little details, making sure the athletes are comfortable.
"Everything is pretty good," Grant Golding, a gymnast from Calgary, said. "The (athletes') village is really nice. The gyms are great."
By the end of Monday about 153 of Canada's 331-member Olympic team had arrived in Beijing. Bernier expects 314 athletes will be there by the time of Wednesday's Canadian flag raising.
J.D. Burnes, an archer from Toronto, was amazed with his room at the athletes village.
"It's one of the nicest apartments I've ever stayed in," said Burnes, who is competing at his first Olympics. "The food is tremendous. There is so much selection. It covers everyone's tastes. "
Most of the Canadian athletes are staying at the Olympic Village, a group of 42 buildings with 9,000 rooms that can accommodate about 17,000 people.
"Every athlete that we have talked to is very impressed and amazed by the quality of this village," said Bernier. "Personally, I have never seen such a nice village in nine Games."
Bernier attended a meeting of mission chefs Monday and was impressed with how Beijing organizing officials and representatives from the International Olympic Committee answered questions.
"They were taking every question seriously and making sure they will solve every problem,'' she said. "Of course we will have a couple of problems along the way.''
Even more impressive has been the enthusiasm of the thousands of volunteers.
"Every where you go, there are not two or three people trying to help you, there are 10 or 15 people that want to help you and make it easier for you," Bernier said.
As for the air, Bernier said, "I have been here three days and two of the three were very nice. We are still confident that by the time the Games start the air quality will be good."
"We are hoping in the next three days the sky will be blue and the air quality will be there."
The Olympics will attract over 10,000 athletes from 200 countries competing in 302 events in 28 sports. Over 20,000 media have been accredited for the Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee has set a goal of winning enough medals to finish among the top 16. Canada won 12 medals in Athens, including three goal, six silver and three bronze.
(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2008)