Former Olympic pole vaulting champion Sergi Bubka, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation commission who concluded a four-day inspection tour of Beijing on Saturday, said the Chinese capital's 2008 Olympic bid project looked very positive.

"Generally I can say, as a sportsman, the plan looks very positive and good," the legendary athlete from Ukraine said.

The four-time Olympian focused his attention on the sports facilities in the Beijing bid, pointing out it's very important that the venues be located near the Olympic village, which will provide much-needed convenience for the athletes.

Actually, he checked the travel time within some of the proposed Olympic facilities and found the result exactly the same with what the Beijing Olympic Bidding Cmmittee (BOBICO) has promised.

On his first ever trip to the world's most populous country, Bubka described the Chinese people as "nice, friendly and very enthusiastic about sports".

"You really love sports," he said.

The Ukrainian, who retired from his athletic career earlier this year, was elected to the IOC Executive Board after the Sydney Olympics.

(People's Daily 02/25/01)