Olympic Near-Hopefuls Set for Beijing
Cambodia's four excited athletes are ready to aim for personal bests in Beijing, but medals will likely be elusive. (05 August 2008)
After training every day for two months, Cambodia's Olympiads are set to travel to Beijing to compete in the2008 Summer Games, even if they hold little hope of bringing home the gold. An excited, smiling Hem Thun Vitiny, an 18-year-oldfreestyle swimmer, was jogging early Tuesday to strengthen her muscles. "I have never attended such kind of big Olympicgame," she said later. "I hope that I can improve my performance,[but I] don't hope to win medal." Later this week, she will join her uncle, butterfly swimmerHem Thun Ponleu, along with marathoner Hem Bunting, no relation, and tracksprinter Sou Thet Linda, in Beijing. Hem Bunting, who claimed that he was ready to contest withother athletes from around the world, said he had little hope to win themedal because he had not been able to train properly. "I don't dare to hope much because [the competitors]had a lot of training with enough equipment," he said Tuesday. "Forus, we don't even have a proper training place and no equipment to train." Cambodiawas allowed to send the four athletes to join only two events, swimming and track,among 40 possible events. The two swimmers will compete Aug. 14 and 15, while the tworunners will compete Aug. 16 and 24. "Our training was short, and there was a lot of rainin our country," Olympic coach Chay Kimsan said. "So we just hope toget ourselves some improvement." Meas Sarin, secretary-general of the Cambodia OlympicNational Committee, agreed. "The result will not come up like what our people wantbecause we are still very low and weak," he said.