China is the new sports superpower: Rogge

By Karolos Grohmann

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's dominance at the Beijing Olympics reflects the changing geopolitical state of the world and it is hard to see them being displaced from the top of the sporting order, IOC chief Jacques Rogge said on Thursday.

"I think they are getting there, to the top," the International Olympic Committee president told international news agencies in an interview. "It will be extremely difficult to change that."

Until Thursday morning China had won 45 gold medals with the United States in second place with 27 golds.

"They might end up between 50-60 (golds). I am not surprised," Rogge said.

He said China's Olympic success was mainly due to the resources pumped into sports to showcase the country's modern image.

Twenty years ago in Seoul, China picked up five golds and sat outside the top 10 gold medal winning countries. Beijing has since invested heavily in selecting and training their athletes, an effort that mirrors the nation's growing global economic and political clout.

"The world has to learn to live with a change of geopolitical nature," he said. "It (China's sporting success) will last as long as their sports system lasts," Rogge said.

He said Britain's best Games performance in a century, with 17 golds so far, bodes well for the London 2012 Olympics.

"What pleases me is that Great Britain is ready," he said. "They have a generation that is ready for 2012."

Rogge, who was long criticized for the IOC's decision to award the Games to Beijing, said so far, three days before the Games end, they were a success.

"The IOC is very happy with the organization of the Games," he said. There are still three days left. I am a very careful man and I can only rejoice at the moment of the closing ceremony."

"SPLEDIND ISOLATION"

"We were not naive nor blind," he said of the protests over China's human rights record and its foreign policies.

"We knew there would be criticism," he said, adding the Games had done their share to change China and open it to the world.

"The Chinese definitely have experienced that they cannot live in splendid isolation," he said.  Continued...