Going for the Gold

Quick, name a few major Chinese sports stars -- besides Yao Ming of the National Basketball Association.

That isn't something the average person outside of China can do easily, despite the possibility that China could emerge as a dominant sporting power come August, when it hosts the summer Olympics in Beijing.

Falling four gold medals shy of the total earned by the top-scoring U.S. at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, China is hoping to use its home-court advantage to improve its medal haul this year. Although Chinese officials have tried to play down expectations, China is fielding its largest-ever Olympic contingent -- some 550 athletes, or about 50% more than it had in Athens -- to ensure a strong showing.

Up until now, commercialization of China's sports stars has been limited, partly because the nation's state-run sporting system encouraged an army of obedient athletes with little of the kind of charisma sports marketers and the media adore.

'If you look currently -- there are only a few faces that are global stars,' says Marcus Kam, sports marketing manager at Adidas AG, an Olympic sponsor. 'Even [gold-medal winning hurdler] Liu Xiang is better known in China.'

But many in the sports industry say that may be about to change. With the Chinese government expected to face pressure after the Olympics to divert spending toward things like health and education, state funding may dry up, forcing Chinese athletes and sports leagues to look elsewhere for money. In addition, the new generation of Chinese sports stars, a more colorful bunch than their predecessors, may lend themselves more to endorsement deals with their willingness to show their personalities and bend the rules.

Since 2000, government sports authorities have been seeking to increase China's Olympic medal count by broadening the nation's sporting dominance beyond table tennis, gymnastics and diving and targeting sports with multiple Olympic events, such as track and field and water sports. This effort goes by the name Project 119.

Although Deputy Sports Minister Cui Dalin last year told reporters that 'gold medals aren't everything,' China now has medal prospects in relatively new areas, such as canoeing, tennis, boxing, beach volleyball and synchronized swimming. Project 119 has achieved some concrete results already, including Mr. Liu's gold in the 110-meter hurdles in Athens -- China's first win by a male athlete in an Olympic track event.

Still, the Chinese are handicapped by a perceived sporting inferiority complex: They usually excel at sports that emphasize precision, such as table tennis and diving, but not at more commercially popular sports such as basketball and soccer, where teamwork and body contact are important. Some have nicknamed this phenomenon the 'Big Balls, Small Balls' theory.

Li Li Leung, managing director for sports-marketing agency Helios Partners China, says there is some truth to the theory 'because the Chinese sports system emphasizes drills and mechanization.'

In China, young athletes with talent are spotted and drilled in tough training regimens at state-run sports schools. They cannot freely negotiate their own commercial endorsements, and those who win sponsorships are required to share a large portion of their earnings -- usually half -- with their teammates, as well as provincial and national sporting bodies. Access to these athletes is relatively limited, making it difficult for sports marketers to realize their investments, people in the industry say.

Ms. Leung, like many others, believes the Chinese system will evolve after the Beijing Olympics. Money is a big incentive. With the Olympics behind it, the Chinese government will be under pressure to focus less on sports and more on programs to help narrow the growing divide between China's rich and poor. That means China's heavily subsidized professional sports leagues, which include basketball and soccer associations, could be asked to generate more of their own funds. There also will be pressure to fill the 37 new and refurbished stadiums China is building for the Games.

Meanwhile, the athletes themselves are agitating for change, pushing their federations for more freedom and a bigger share of the Chinese sports-industry pie, which has grown from virtually nothing to more than $15 billion annually, according to World Sports Group, a sports-marketing agency based in Singapore.

'The athletes want to cash in,' says Marcus John, who runs talent-management agency IMG Worldwide's China office.

While a reasonably well-known U.S. sports star could expect to make $25,000 to $50,000 per speaking engagement, their Chinese counterparts can only command about a tenth of that, says Mr. John. 'Talent management [in China] is at its infancy at best,' he says.

Growing up during China's economic boom, the nation's newest sports stars have shown a willingness to buck the state-run system, with some even indulging in once-unthinkable public spats with their coaches and the media.

Badminton star Lin Dan has been likened to U.S. tennis star John McEnroe because of his cockiness and brilliant on-court moves. The charismatic Mr. Lin, who likes to sport dark glasses and spiky hair off-court, has deals with FedEx Corp., PepsiCo Inc., and KFC Corp., among others.

'He could be like Tiger Woods, someone who extends the popularity of the sport beyond the normal target audience,' says Terry Rhoads, founder of Shanghai-based sports-marketing agency ZOU Marketing.

Li Na, the first Chinese tennis player to win a Women's Tennis Association event, defied authorities by taking two years off for college, though now the player -- dubbed tennis's 'bad girl' by state-owned newspaper China Daily -- is back on the circuit and a possible medal contender.

Volleyball player Zhao Ruirui, known as 'China's female Yao Ming,' is poised to make an eagerly anticipated comeback as the Chinese women seek to defend their Olympic title. Sidelined by a leg fracture and other injuries, the 6-foot-5-inch striker has been nicknamed the 'Glass Beauty' because of her tendency to get hurt. Proof of her star power: Ms. Zhao was singled out by Coca-Cola Co. for an individual sponsorship deal, relatively unusual for Chinese team sports.

Petite tae kwon do fighter Wu Chengyu, meanwhile, has starred in a movie. Table-tennis star Chen Qi has a rap video. Dozens more athletes have blogs, enabling fans closer access.

'Personality's definitely a factor in our selection process,' says Coca-Cola sports-marketing manager Jimmy Chen, who spotted and signed up Mr. Liu before the hurdler shot to prominence as China's first track star. At that time, the sponsorship deal was relatively 'cheap,' he says. By 2007, a sponsorship deal with Mr. Liu cost about 20 million yuan ($2.8 million), says Mr. Chen.

But for now, all nonsanctioned social and commercial activities have been curtailed as athletes hunker down before the Games.

'The Beijing Olympic Games are just around the corner,' says Liu Peng, director of the State Sports Administration of China. 'Now it is wartime.'

Mei Fong


除了在美国打篮球的姚明外，你还能说出哪位中国体育明星的名字？

对中国之外的普通人来说，这还真不是件容易的事情，虽然中国队在这次北京奥运会上或许有可能表现出压倒性优势。


在2004年的雅典奥运会上，中国队仅以4枚金牌之差落后于美国屈居第二。中国希望在今年的奥运会上凭藉本土优势提升奖牌总数。尽管中国官方试图淡化对比赛成绩的厚望，但为了确保取得优秀的成绩，中国组建了一支规模空前的庞大代表团，运动员人数多达550人，比雅典奥运会增加了五成左右。

目前，中国体育明星的商业化运作还很有限，这在一定程度上是因为在中国体育实行的举国体制下，产生了一大批以服从为本的运动员，他们很少具备体育经纪行业和媒体所欣赏的感召力。

奥运会赞助商阿迪达斯(Adidas AG)体育营销经理马库斯•卡姆(Marcus Kam)称，现在数一下，国际化的中国体育明星就那么几位。即使是奥运会跨栏冠军刘翔，也只是在中国国内比较有名。

但许多体育界的人都说，这种情况可能会发生改变。预计中国政府在奥运会结束后将面临增加医疗、教育等领域投入的压力，财政资金可能会因此枯竭，进而迫使运动员和体育组织从其他方面筹集资金。此外，比前辈们更有多彩个性的中国新一代体育明星愿意展示他们的个性并遵守“游戏”规则，这将大大有助于他们赢得商业合约。

自2000年以来，中国体育部门为了提升奖牌数量，决定在乒乓球、 操和跳水等传统强项以外增加重点发展项目，将田径和水上运动等多个奥运项目列入获奖目标。这套战略在中国被称为“119工程”。

虽然中国国家体育总局副局长崔大林去年曾向记者表示“金牌不代表一切”，但眼下，中国在相对新兴的运动项目上具备了夺金的实力，如单人皮划艇、网球、拳击、沙滩排球和花样游泳等。119工程已经取得了一些实质性的成果，例如刘翔在雅典奥运会的男子110米栏比赛中夺冠，这是中国在男子田径项目中夺得的第一块奥运金牌。

然而，中国人在体育上仍受到某种运动自卑感的束缚，人们总认为，中国人往往能在强调精密度的运动项目上取得优秀成绩，如乒乓球和跳水，但在篮球和足球等更加商业化的流行运动上却难有作为，因为这些项目更需要场上的团队合作，且容易发生肢体碰撞。有人将这种现象总结成“大、小球”理论。

运动市场营销公司赫利奥斯(Helios Partners China)总经理梁莉莉表示，这套理论有一定的道理，因为中国的体育制度强调机械性的练习。

中国的体育发展机制是，由国家办的体校去挖掘有天赋的年轻运动员并进行严格的训练。他们无权自主谈判自己的商业合同，那些得到赞助的运动员要拿出大块所得（通常是一半）给队友及省级和国家运动队分享。据业内人士称，由于与中国运动员的接触受到限制，因此，体育经纪人很难实施投资。

包括梁莉莉在内的许多人都相信，中国的体育机制会在奥运会后出现变化，因为资金因素将产生巨大的改革动力。奥运会结束后，政府在体育上的投入将承受压力，会更多关注旨在缩小贫富差距的项目。这意味着，包括篮协和足协在内高度依赖政府补贴的体育组织要在更大程度上实现自力更生。此外，中国为奥运兴建和改造的37座体育场馆也面临如何开发利用的压力。

此外，运动员自身也主张改革，要求体协给予运动员更多自由，并让他们在中国体育产业这块大蛋糕中分到更多好处。据新加坡体育市场营销公司World Sports Group称，中国体育市场已经由原来几乎为零发展成年产值超过150亿美元的大产业。

经纪公司IMG Worldwide驻中国办事处主管马库斯•约翰(Marcus John)称，运动员想得到更多的收入。

约翰表示，在美国，一位知名体育明星每次出场可以得到2.5-5万美元，而中国同行的收入则只有十分之一。运动人才管理充其量也只处在起步阶段。

伴随中国经济发展成长起来的新一代体育明星们表现出了摆脱国家体制的愿望，有些人甚至发展到与教练和媒体公开对骂的程度，而这在过去是不可思议的。

羽毛球运动员林丹因其桀骜不驯的性格和在赛场上的优异表现而被人们与美国 球运动员麦肯罗(John McEnroe)相提并论。留着直短发型、在场下喜欢戴墨镜的林丹已与联邦快递集团(FedEx Corp)、百事公司(PepsiCo Inc.)、肯德基和其他公司签了代言协议。

上海运动市场营销机构－－前锐商务咨询有限公司(ZOU Marketing)创办人陆海瑞(Terry Rhoads)表示，林丹可能成为另一位泰格•伍兹(Tiger Woods)。伍兹让他从事的运动项目在传统受众以外也受到了欢迎。

李娜是中国首位赢得国际女子职业网球协会赛事冠军的运动员，曾不听上级安排离开球场两年去读书。不过这位曾被《中国日报》(China Daily)称为网坛“坏孩子”的选手已经重新参加巡回赛，并有望在奥运会上夺牌。

在中国女排希望捍卫自己的奥运战绩之际，被誉为“中国女姚明”的女排选手赵蕊蕊在众人期盼之下有望复出。此前她受腿骨骨折和其他伤病的影响一直在休养，由于频繁受伤，这位身高6英尺5英尺的扣球手被外界称谓“玻璃美人”。可口可乐公司(Coca-Cola Co.)为赵蕊蕊提供了个别赞助，这在中国团队项目的运动员中相对少见，足显其明星实力。

身材娇小的跆拳道运动员吴静钰曾出演电影。乒乓球明星陈杞推出了一段绕舌头视频。还有数十位运动员有自己的博客，以拉进与“粉丝”的距离。

可口可乐运动市场营销经理Jimmy Chen表示，个性肯定是我们挑选运动员的一个考虑因素。早在刘翔迅速走红之前，他就看到了刘翔的潜力并抢先签下赞助协议，而当时的赞助费要相对便宜。据他透露，2007年一家公司与刘翔签订的赞助费是人民币2,000万元（合280万美元）。

眼下，因备战奥运，运动员未经批准不得参加任何社会和商业活动。

国家体育总局局长刘鹏称，奥运会即将召开，现在已进入战备状态。

Mei Fong