Elite athletes made in China

BEIJING -- The Olympic Games are showcasing incredible changes in the lives of China's billion-plus people. Yet one aspect of life in this fiercely capitalist marketplace remains firmly stuck in the socialist past.

That's China's state-run sports system, which continues to churn out gold medal champions.

Copied from the former Soviet Union, the system feeds, clothes and houses the vast majority of the athletes starring in Beijing. Officials restrict their stars from dating or marrying, deduct a large percentage of their winnings and even turn off the lights in the athlete dormitories.

Experts say winning the right to host this year's Games has slowed efforts to reform that system. The hunt for gold maintains the elitist nature of Chinese sports and has delayed more attention being focused on popular sport and community-based projects.

The communal living imposed by residence in the Olympic Village would ...