Press Coverage of the Olympics

August 5, 2008 For American Athletes, a Home Base for Training That’s a Little Like Home By JULIET MACUR www.nytimes.com/.../05normal.html BEIJING — With the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games just a few days away, the athletes’ village here is filling up, and fast. Russian volleyball players are making themselves at home. Ecuadorian runners have set up camp. The Egyptian delegation arrived and hung what seems to be the world’s longest flag from a balcony. It unfurled for seven stories. The atmosphere can be chaotic, but United States athletes in need of some normalcy can escape to their very own oasis: Beijing Normal University. About a 15-minute drive from the village, on a quiet campus with tall trees, the United States Olympic Committee has created what it calls a high-performance center. Athletes can train, eat and play in a place that looks and feels like home. “The Olympics is such an emotional thing, so it’s great to have a place where you can come to relax and breathe a little,” said Taraje Williams-Murray, a judo athlete from the Bronx. “The only thing they don’t have is Western toilets. That’s been interesting....”

August 5, 2008 For American Athletes, a Home Base for Training That’s a Little Like Home By JULIET MACUR www.nytimes.com/.../05normal.html BEIJING — With the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games just a few days away, the athletes’ village here is filling up, and fast. Russian volleyball players are making themselves at home. Ecuadorian runners have set up camp. The Egyptian delegation arrived and hung what seems to be the world’s longest flag from a balcony. It unfurled for seven stories. The atmosphere can be chaotic, but United States athletes in need of some normalcy can escape to their very own oasis: Beijing Normal University. About a 15-minute drive from the village, on a quiet campus with tall trees, the United States Olympic Committee has created what it calls a high-performance center. Athletes can train, eat and play in a place that looks and feels like home. “The Olympics is such an emotional thing, so it’s great to have a place where you can come to relax and breathe a little,” said Taraje Williams-Murray, a judo athlete from the Bronx. “The only thing they don’t have is Western toilets. That’s been interesting....”