Chinese swimmers to tackle Cook Strait
Two Chinese swimmers are to kick off that country’s Olympic build-up with a crossing of Cook Strait between 25 and 28 February, with Sunday 25 February as the preferred date.
The crossing by the swimmers from Beijing Sport University is being coordinated by veteran Cook Strait and English Channel swimmer Philip Rush and is one of five that the Beijing swimming team will undertake around the world to publicise next year’s Olympics.
This team will also swim across Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, the Red Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar and Panama Canal over the next one and a half years. The project, called Weixiao Ying Aoyun, Lianjie Wudazhou, which translates from Chinese as Smiling Welcome Beijing Olympic and Crossing Five Continents, features one swim for each of the five circles of the Olympic flag.
A delegation of around 40 people, all from Beijing, is in Wellington to support the swim. The visit was arranged by Wellington City Council staff during their visit to China last year.
Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast says the five-continent swim is a magnificent undertaking and it is a great privilege for the Capital to host the start of it. “It’s an incredible challenge to take on such a list of swims. And it’s a real honour for us to be able to host what is in effect the launch of China’s Olympic campaign.â€Â
Mayor Prendergast also says that the swim is a good example of the ties that now exist between Wellington and the Chinese capital. “We signed a formal sister city relationship agreement with Beijing last year, and the Council and Beijing municipal authority have since exchanged delegations to confirm our connection. The swimmers’ visit is one of the first benefits of this new relationship. We now have two sister cities there – Beijing and Xiamen.â€Â
The Chinese team is led by Zhang Jian, a famous swimmer in China who crossed Bering Strait in 2001. The swimmers who will tackle Cook Strait are 20-year-old Zhang Jie and Wei Gang, aged 23. They will start from Ohau Point near Makara Beach and come ashore at Perano Head on Arapawa Island at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. The swim should take about eight hours. The date and start time for the swim will depend on the weather.
Mayor Prendergast will meet the swimmers at Oriental Bay today (Friday 23 February) at 3.45pm.
The crossing by the swimmers from Beijing Sport University is being coordinated by veteran Cook Strait and English Channel swimmer Philip Rush and is one of five that the Beijing swimming team will undertake around the world to publicise next year’s Olympics.
This team will also swim across Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, the Red Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar and Panama Canal over the next one and a half years. The project, called Weixiao Ying Aoyun, Lianjie Wudazhou, which translates from Chinese as Smiling Welcome Beijing Olympic and Crossing Five Continents, features one swim for each of the five circles of the Olympic flag.
A delegation of around 40 people, all from Beijing, is in Wellington to support the swim. The visit was arranged by Wellington City Council staff during their visit to China last year.
Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast says the five-continent swim is a magnificent undertaking and it is a great privilege for the Capital to host the start of it. “It’s an incredible challenge to take on such a list of swims. And it’s a real honour for us to be able to host what is in effect the launch of China’s Olympic campaign.â€Â
Mayor Prendergast also says that the swim is a good example of the ties that now exist between Wellington and the Chinese capital. “We signed a formal sister city relationship agreement with Beijing last year, and the Council and Beijing municipal authority have since exchanged delegations to confirm our connection. The swimmers’ visit is one of the first benefits of this new relationship. We now have two sister cities there – Beijing and Xiamen.â€Â
The Chinese team is led by Zhang Jian, a famous swimmer in China who crossed Bering Strait in 2001. The swimmers who will tackle Cook Strait are 20-year-old Zhang Jie and Wei Gang, aged 23. They will start from Ohau Point near Makara Beach and come ashore at Perano Head on Arapawa Island at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. The swim should take about eight hours. The date and start time for the swim will depend on the weather.
Mayor Prendergast will meet the swimmers at Oriental Bay today (Friday 23 February) at 3.45pm.