GC FOSTER College closed the special sprinting course for the six Chinese coaches who were in Jamaica as part of a Government to Government (Jamaica to China) scholarship arrangement.

The graduation exercise was held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston last Thursday.

The six coaches who graduated were Li Xiumei, Yan Juntao, Chen Hongtao, Yan Hui, Zhang Yingbo and Wang Anlee. They received a special diploma in sprinting. The course was patterned off the IAAF course for the discipline.

According to Natalie Neita-Headley, minister without portfolio with responsibility for sports, who spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, under whom the sports portfolio falls, said that the course delivered to the Chinese under the scholarship programme will be available to other elite coaches wishing to learn from Jamaica.

She also said that the balance of four scholarship (six of the original 10 were taken up by the coaches who completed the one month intensive programme) will be taken up in September by full time diploma students.

Dr Wang Anlee, who spoke on behalf of the coaches in an extensive interview, praised the Government, GC Foster College and the lecturers led by Maurice Wilson — Jamaica’s technical leader to senior events.

He said that the six coaches learnt a lot about Jamaica’s sprinting programme in the five weeks that they were here.

He referred to the following: The whole country pays close attention to track and field; the improvement of the company’s image through the athletes’ success; the economic benefit of the sports; the fact that Jamaicans speak English so can communicate easily with most persons, including foreigners; Jamaica has a pool of talented athletes who receive very good scientific training; there are super stars that make other countries jealous; Jamaicans are relaxed, easy-going people and this aides sprinting success.

He also spoke extensively about the country’s training methods which is done in short intense time segments. This is in stark contrast to how it is done in China.

This was an eye-opener for the group. Nutrition was a big topic for them as well.

Dr Anlee said that Jamaica’s athletes consume a lot of carbohydrates, while in China the athletes focus more on meats or proteins. The way Jamaica focuses on periodisation was also mentioned by Dr Anlee.

The way that Jamaica ties education with athletic training and performance was commended by him. He spoke about the future benefit of being able to move on to a successful life when the athlete retires.

He went on further to say that Jamaica should invest in GC Foster College to improve the facility in terms of its physical plant and technology because the country could get even greater results in the future.

Two of the coaches left the island last week while the other four were slated to depart for China Saturday morning.