In China, athletes as young as Five, endure brutal training knowing that the glory of the state trumps all. It can be anything but fun and games for the young children caught up inside the countrys medal machine.
Children are like clay in potters hands. A child if picked up young can be shaped into becoming anything. This case is most true in the field of sports, where children are picked up at very young ages to transform them into Olympic champions.
Nanning Gymnasium in Nanning, China, is one of many ruthless training camps across the country to which parents send their children to become champions.
The world applauds when records are broken and youngsters who have just entered their teens make records that defy human imaginations.
But there is a much darker side to this Olympic glory. Athletes who shine at Olympics would have undergone a horrid time at their camps, as they would be beaten into shape and trained to be tough since their childhood.
While training techniques appear extreme to the western eyes, they provide an insight into why Chinas athletes at London 2012 seem so easily able to swim, dive, lift and shoot their way to victory.
