Hospitality, sportsmanship highlighted by athletes at FISU Games

Photo: Lu Wenao/Global Times

Brazilian swimmer Fernanda Gomes Celidonio said Sunday that volunteers at the Chengdu Games are making her feel completely "at home."

The University of Louisville student is among the members of the Brazilian relay team that won a bronze medal in the mixed 4x100 meters freestyle relay.

"I'm absolutely in love with it [China]," Gomes Celidonio told the Global Times."Being here is probably something that we would never experience in our lives."

She noted that learning about China's diverse culture in such a short period has delighted many athletes.

"My favorite part so far was meeting the pandas and going on that little trip. It's amazing how close everyone here makes us feel to this culture, and how much I've learned over the past two weeks," Gomes Celidonio added.

"All the support that FISU and everything, everyone is giving us, this is a dream come true and giving us all the support to perform at our best. That's all we needed and that's already a dream come true besides the results."

Female distance runner Cara Feain-Ryan of Australia, who won the gold medal in the women's 3,000 meters steeplechase, underlined that sportsmanship is celebrated throughout the fierce competitions.

"The event is very challenging, especially when the heat and the humidity here changed, but it was a really wonderful experience," Feain-Ryan recalled of her race, after which many athletes ended up lying on the ground after the exhausting run.

"They just put absolutely everything into the race, and there's always a great sense of sportsmanship," Feain-Ryan said. "We all work in the same thing to help each other out and lift each other up after the race."

"It's wonderful as you come to an event like this. All athletes from different countries will experience the same thing," the University of Queensland student said.

"It's great to get people from other countries to be your competitors in the event. I think afterwards there's a really big sense of respect for what everyone has achieved.

Women's javelin throw bronze medalist Jana van Schalkwyk of South Africa praised the organizers for their "amazing" job helping athletes enjoy the Games.

"The Games Village, I just have to say, China really did an amazing job, and Chengdu did an amazing job to get everything as it is now. We really enjoy everything," she said.