November 23rd -GDUFS’s Tenth Students Track and Field Games was held on November 20th.  Students from nineteen faculties including five from the Institute of Education for International Students took part in this sporting event. At the opening ceremony, their colorful balloons and slogan, “Open to the World and Future" received a lot of attention. 

Although only 5 foreign students participated in the games, they did a great job. After the games, we had the opportunity to interview them.

Shimada Yoko, a Japanese girl, came second in the 200-meter-race and third in the 100-meter-race. Yoko came to China in April 2008 and has been learning Chinese for two years. In the interview, she communicated with us in fluent Chinese. Back in Japan, Yoko was a sprinter on her middle school team and her team once won a silver medal in a national relay race. At present, she's a member of GDUFS’s track and field team. She trains with the school team on the south campus every Thursday afternoon. Apart from these regular training periods, Yoko also exercises every afternoon. Yoko's achievements come from persistent, hard work.

Now let's switch to the men's 100-meter relay race. Although our foreign friends didn't make it to the top three, they still had an impressive showing.

On the sixth track, an athlete from Yemen, Sam, carried the first baton.  He came to GDUFS to study international business last October. During our talk with him, we could feel his passion for sports - he likes playing basketball, football and even tried ping pong when he first came to China. In Yemen, his team took home a second in a senior high school football game where he played midfield. He plays football with his friends in the afternoons, and they sometimes go to Tian He District to play with students from other universities. Sam really enjoys his time here. He said he liked various activities, such as the culture festival and the thanksgiving party. Humorous and outgoing, Sam mischievously asked me after my interview finished, “it's time for my interview! What's your name?"

Apart from Sam, the other two runners -- Adrian and Mohi in the relay race also accepted our invitation for an interview. Adrian, a strong, tall guy from England was the anchor of the race. He told us he was a little disappointed at their performance but he was still happy to have participated. He told us that they hadn't had much time to train before the games. Back in England, Adrian was a sprinter and his best record of 100-meter race was 11.5 seconds. Different from Adrian, Mohi, from Sudan, felt very pleased with his performance. He told us that he used to play in the best football team in his country and came in third place in a national 100-meter race.

Nowadays, many foreign students can be seen on the fields in our campus, training alone or mixing with Chinese students on the basketball court or the football field. Though hailing from different countries, they all have something in common--a love for sport and an urge to pursue "higher, swifter, and stronger".