From The New York Times (link):
In China, people wait for gold medals to roll in from the Olympic Winter Games. Ski manufacturers wait for a growing Chinese middle class to flock to newly constructed slopes. The Chinese Olympic committee waits for a Swedish coach to transform its cross-country ski team and for speedskaters training in Canada to dominate their events.
Outside China, the world waits to see whether the country will become as big a force in the Winter Games as it has become in the Summer Games, where it is not only poised to play host to the next Olympics in 2008, but may also dominate the medal count after spending the past decade building a summer sports machine.
