Inside China's Olympic-training schools

More than 2,000 state-run schools have been churning out gold medalists for decades

Jackie Friedman's avatar
Lauren Hansen's avatar
By ,
published

Girls do handstands during gymnastics lessons at the Shanghai Yangpu Youth Amateur Athletic School in Shanghai, China.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Aly Song)China often dominates several Olympic events, including gymnastics, badminton, table tennis, and diving. To get there, China has more than 2,000 state-run schools dedicated)

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Aly Song))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Aly Song))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Aly Song))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj))

(Image credit: (REUTERS/Aly Song))

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.