From left: Shanghai divers Huo Liang and Wu Minxia, swimmer Liu Zige and boxer Zou Shiming are greeted by sports fans at Hongqiao Airport yesterday. They made a triumphant return after their gold medal-winning performance at the Beijing Olympic Games.
FOUR Beijing Olympic gold medalists from Shanghai arrived home yesterday and received a hero's welcome at Hongqiao Airport.
The golden quartet are Wu Minxia, winner of the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard Huo Liang, winner of men's synchronized 10m platform Liu Zige, winner and world record breaker in the women's 200m butterfly and Zou Shiming, the 48kg boxing champion.
Along with them were Liu's trainer, Jin Wei, and Zou's trainer, Zhang Chuanliang.
The champions had just completed a five-day victory tour of the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions.
"Although I'm on the run and have been a bit tired, the moment I arrived home I felt fully refreshed again,'' big-punching Zou said after alighting from the plane.
Both Wu and Huo are Shanghai natives. Zou, born in Guizhou Province, is part of a joint initiative between Guizhou and Shanghai for almost five years.
Liu, originally from Benxi, in Liaoning Province, was introduced to Shanghai swimming team in 2004 as a budding talent.
Han Xiufang, vice director of the Shanghai Sports Bureau, said the city attached great importance to attracting a wide variety of sporting talent and instructors.
"The city provides talented people with the best training, facilities and ideas from scientific research," she said. "It helps us learn the most cutting-edge techniques in the world."
Shanghai native Wang Liqin, the men's table tennis gold medalist, is expected back home soon.
Liu Xiang, the 110m hurdles gold medalist at the Athens Games who was forced out of the Beijing Olympics with an Achilles tendon injury, returned to Shanghai last Wednesday with his coach, Sun Haiping.
His recovery treatment will last at least six months, medical experts said after he underwent a barrage of tests at Huashan Hospital.
