Chinese athletes and sports officials have begun morning training programs following the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to stage morning swimming and gymnastics finals at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The events were rescheduled to cater for US television audiences and caused outrage among the world's top competitors.
However both China's swimming and gymnastics teams are confident they will adapt to the new morning schedule and will design new training programmes for the 2007 season.
Zhang Yadong, head coach of the national team, believed his squad would quickly master the change.
"We plan to turn our watches back. We will get up earlier, eat earlier and train earlier, just like when we adjust for the time differences when we are competing in other countries," he said. "I don't think it is something that would limit our athletes.
"We are not surprised by the decision. It's what we did not wish, but we have expected such changes and now we have to face the reality."
IOC member Hein Verbruggen confirmed at a press conference last Thursday that the swimming and part of the gymnastics finals at the Beijing Games would take place in the morning, to win over US television audiences.
US television rights holder NBC successfully lobbied the IOC for the finals to coincide with peak evening viewing hours in the United States, however the rescheduling clashed with the athletes' body clocks. Olympians usually perform better at night as most of the swimming world records testify. They have all been made at night in previous Games.
Zhang said his team had yet to adopt the new scheduling but revealed his swimmers were ready to change training times and their everyday lives.
"We will launch the new plan from next year and testing the new schedule at the national championships next autumn."
Women's butterfly swimmer Zhou Yafei, who broke two Asian records over 50 meters and 100 meters at the national championships in September, echoed Zhang's point of view.
"No matter what the schedule is, we will be ready to swim our best. The most important thing is to improve ourselves," she said.
The gymnastics team is also ready, especially after wrapping up eight out of 14 gold medals at the World Championships in Aarhus of Denmark this month.
The triple gold medallist Yang Wei said time was enough for him to make a shift on his form.
"Of course it is a very bad decision as to athletes as we seldom had any intense training in the morning before," said Yang. "But it's OK for me, at least, it is the same for everyone. I have nearly two-year time to get myself well-prepared in the morning."
The new scheduling has less impact on gymnasts than the swimmers as only four event finals - men's and women's team and all-round, have been moved to morning section.
However, the athletes, who have only three morning training a week before and sleep in rooms on rest of the week, now opt to get up at 6:30am and have exercise starting at 8:00am everyday.
In addition, the regular in-team competition has been held in the morning since August.
"At very beginning, I found it hard to concentrate in the morning, I was always sleepy," said Cheng Fei, women's triple gold winner at the worlds. "But now I am refreshed and energized despite getting up that early.
"The changes won't hamper my performance, not at all."
Many Olympic champions and the world leading swimmers have criticised the move including Ian Thorpe of Australia, Roland Schoeman of South Africa, Kosuke Kitajima from Japan, Laure Manaudou of France and Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands. "It will be an unfair competition," Zhang responsed when first knew the decision. "I don't see how the Olympic spirit can be seen in this decision, I doubt it is."
Only once in Olympic history - during the 1988 Seoul Games - has swimming, gymnastics and athletics finals been held in the morning.
2008 Beijing Olympic Games changes at a glance
Athletics: The competitions will go from Aug 15-24 at the National Stadium, with a total of 47 gold medals on offer. New event will be women's 3,000 metres steeplechase.
Rowing: The competitions will go from Aug 9-16 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. The finals will be on Aug 15 and Aug 16, with a total of 14 gold medals on offer. The session time will be changed from morning to afternoon.
Badminton: The competitions will go from Aug 9-17 at Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium. The finals will be held from Aug 15-17 with a total of five gold medals on offer. New format will be applied as each match will be played as rally point and contested as the best of the three games of 21 points.
Baseball: The competitions will go from Aug 13-23 at Wukesong Baseball Fields. The final will be held on Aug 23.
Basketball: The competitions will go from Aug 9-24 at Wukesong Indoor Stadium. The women's final will held on Aug 23 while the men's will be on Aug 24. The classification matches for 5th-12th will be eliminated.
Boxing: The competitions will go from Aug 9-24 at Workers' Indoor Arena. The finals will be held on Aug 23 and 24 with a total of 11 gold medals on offer. The rules will be amended in November 2006 and the opening scoring will be adopted. One month before Olympic Games, the draw for boxers will be done. Automatic electric draw system both for boxers and referee/judges will be adopted.
Canoe/Kayak (flat water): The competitions will go from Aug 18-23 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. The finals will be held on Aug 22 and 23 with a total of 12 gold medals on offer. The session time will be changed from morning to afternoon.
Canoe/Kayak (slalom): The competitions will go from Aug 11-14 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. The finals will be held on Aug 12 and 14 with a total of four gold medals on offer. The session time will be changed from morning to afternoon.
Cycling (track): The competitions will go from Aug 15-19 at Laoshan Velodrome with a total of 10 gold medals on offer. Two events, women's time trial 500m and men's time trial 1,000m, will be eliminated. Men's and women's Points Race lap points will be 20.
Cycling (mountain bike): The competitions will be held on Aug 22 and 23 at Laoshan Mountain Bike course with two gold medals on offer.
Cycling (BMX): It is a new discipline from the Athens Games. The competitions will be held on Aug 20 and 21 at Laoshan BMX Field with two gold medals on offer.
Cycling (road): The competitions will be held on Aug 9, 10 and 13 at the Urban Road Cycling Course with a total of four gold medals on offer.
Equestrian: The competitions will go from Aug 9-20 at Hongkong Equestrian Venues with a total of six gold medals on offer.
Fencing: The competitions will go from Aug 9-17 at Fencing Hall with a total of ten gold medals on offer. Women's foil and sabre team events will replace men's foil and women's epee team events and quota will increase by 12.
Football: The competitions will go from Aug 6-23 at National Stadium, Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Workers' Stadium, Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium, Qinghuangdao Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Shenyang Wulihe Stadium and Shanghai Stadium. The women's final will be held on Aug 22 at Workers' Stadium, while the men's will be held on Aug 23 at National Stadium. The number of the women's teams will be increased from 10 to 12. The 12 women's teams shall be divide into three groups of four teams and the system of first round is single round robin. Winner and runner-up in each group and two best third placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, final and play-off for third place will be played by the knockout system.
Gymnastics (artistic gymnastics): The competitions will go from Aug 9-19 at National Indoor Stadium with a total of 14 gold medals on offer. There will be a gala show on Aug 20. The team and all round finals time will be changed from evening to morning.
Gymnastics (trampoline): The competitions will go from Aug 16-19 at National Indoor Stadium with two gold medals on offer.
Gymnastics (rhythmic gymnastics): The competitions will go from Aug 21-24 at Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium with two gold medals on offer. The quota will increase in the team events with two more teams being added.
Weightlifting: The competitions will go from Aug 9-19 at Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium with a total of 15 gold medals on offer.
Handball: The competitions will go from Aug 9-24 at Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium and National Indoor Stadium. The women's final will be held on Aug 23 at National Indoor Stadium while the men's will be held on Aug 24 at the same venue. The number of the women's team will be increased from 10 to 12.
Hockey: The competitions will go from Aug 10-23 at Olympic Green Hockey Field. The women's final will be held on Aug 22 while the men's on Aug 23. The number of the women's team will be increased from 10 to 12.
Judo: The competitions will go from Aug 9-15 at Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium with a total of 14 gold medals on offer.
Wrestling: The competitions will go from Aug 12-21 at China Agriculture University Gymnasium with a total of 18 gold medals on offer. New competition format will be implemented as elimination system with double repechage.
Swimming: The competitions will go from Aug 9-17 and Aug 20-21 at National Aquatics Centre and Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park with a total of 34 told medals on offer. The finals will be changed from evening to morning session. New events will be men's and women's marathon swimming 10km.
Diving: The competitions will go from 10-23 at National Aquatics Centre with a total of eight gold medals on offer.
Synchronized Swimming: The competitions will go from 17-21 at National Aquatics Centre with two gold medals on offer.
Water Polo: The competitions will go from 10-24 at Ying Tung Natatorium and National Aquatics Centre. The women's final will be held on Aug 23 while the men's will be on Aug 24.
Modern Pentathlon: The competitions will be held on Aug 21 and 22 at Fencing Hall (fencing, shooting), Olympic Sports Centre Stadium (riding, running) and Ying Tung Natatorium (swimming) with two gold medals on offer. The quota will increase by eight with four for men and four for women.
Softball: The competitions will go from Aug 12-21 at Fengtai Softball Fields. The final will be held on August 21.
Taekwondo: The competitions will go from Aug 20-23 at Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium with a total of eight gold medals on offer. The quota will increase by four with two for men and two for women.
Tennis: The competitions will go from Aug 10-17 at Olympic Green Tennis Centre with four gold medals on offer. The finals will be held on Aug 16 and 17.
Table tennis: The competitions will go from 13-23 at Peking University Gymnasium with four gold medals on offer. The team events will replace the doubles events.
Shooting: The competitions will go from Aug 9-17 at Beijing Shooting Hall and Beijing Shooting Range (clay target field) with a total of 15 gold medals on offer. Two events, men's 10m running target and women's double trap, will be removed.
Archery: The competitions will go from Aug 9-15 at Olympic Green Archery Field with four gold medals on offer. The number of arrows will be changed from 18 to 12 in the individual elimination rounds and the number of arrows for teams will be changed from seven to 24 in four ends of six arrows.
Triathlon: The competitions will be held on Aug 18 and 19 at Changping Triathlon course with two gold medals on offer. The quota will increase by ten with five for men and five four women.
Sailing: The competitions will go from Aug 9-23 at Qingdao Olympic Marina with a total of 11 gold medals on offer. Some of the boat classes will be changed: Neil Pryde (RS:X) will replace Mistral; Laser (men) will replace Finn (men); Laser Radial (women) will replace Europe (women); and Finn (mixed) will replace Laser (mixed).
Volleyball: The competitions will go from Aug 9-24 at Capital Gymnasium and Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium. The women's final will be held on Aug 23 while the men's will be held on Aug 24.
Beach Volleyball: The competitions will go from Aug 9-22 at Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground. The women's final will be held on Aug 21 while the men's will be on Aug 22.
(China Daily October 31, 2006)