Thanks for providing the translation - it isn't easy to decipher the broken English, but people really should read the whole thing - there are some more fascinating little pieces of information in there.
I'm not trying to get into the debate over the legality of the records, or drug use. If you really love running, and take some time to think about how it brings people from such diverse backgrounds together to compete, or even from a human interest point of view, Wang's story is absolutely compelling (I want to think that her account is true, and I want to learn more.) The kind of toughness it takes to survive that kind of training - and she was just a baby when she started - then to regroup, go back to training and come back to win two Olympic medals in the condition she says she was in - and then to go through the sense of loss and uncertainty and fear she says felt when she left the sport, the sense of longing she must feel knowing that she could have competed for much longer if she had't suffered so much under Ma - I just don't understand how people can overlook these things. Yes it is easy to dismiss the records and throw accusations of drug use, and even to blame Wang and the other athletes. I just think that in doing so people show more of their own ignorance and prejudice. In the bigger picture, Wang's place in China's sporting history reflects so much of the dark side of China.
Some things that stood out for me:
- her descriptions of trying to escape from the threats of Ma and his army; it seems completely believable to me that Ma could have brainwashed his new crop so easily, given the total control he had over them. I remember reading about how Yao Ming's mother was kind of a ringleader at her sports school during the Cultural Revolution, how she accused her coach and participated in his trial, after which he was sent away from re-education (this was in a cover story on Yao in Time.) This kind of mindset, in an environment where there is total control, is probably the way most human beings would respond
- her tears when she got back to China after the Atlanta Olympics - even the translation couldn't mess this up: "only me and my family understand the true meaning of those tears."
- the little tidbits she mentioned of her life immediately after the games and her retirement; how after she made her decision, her coach was given only three days to leave their training center - she seems to have lost her entire support system so suddenly; she also talked about how she couldn't go to university, couldn't leave the country; she talked about how she fought to get even a small amount of freedom, and even talked about coming to America for a while, presumably with her first husband, and living quietly and annonymously.
I'd be interested to read her autobiography. I wish I could get more details about her story, and the story of Ma's army. If there ever could be a torture developed based on running, he should be subjected to it to the greatest extent of human suffering, and that would still be too good for him. Save your "yeah, but she's a drug cheat" comments if you don't want to look a little bit deeper. I think her and the army may well have been amazing athletes, with or without drugs. Very few human beings could have endured what they did; even if they were on drugs, I think 98% of the work was a result of their strength - they had no choice between running and surviving and being discarded.