Swimming Venue,Hottest Venue of Universiade Centre

Immediately following the opening ceremony, the competitive events of the 26th Universiad in Shenzhen will be in full swing. Some eight thousand young athletes from 152 countries and regions will compete in more than 300 disciplines to show off their talents as well as the city showing off its vitality. As the motto of the Universiad goes, it will all 'start here!'

Lv Xiaohong filed this report from Shenzhen.

The swimming complex of the Shenzhen Universiade Center will be one of the hottest venues as tickets to swimming competitions have become a market hit.

Liu Yongli, deputy venue director, disclosed the reason behind the huge attraction.

"At the request of the Chinese Swimming Association, FINA, the world governing body for aquatic sports, has approved the Shenzhen Universiad's swimming competition as one of the qualifying trials for next year's London Olympic Games."

The announcement has largely boosted the morale of young swimmers form around the world.

Eirik Ravnan, from Norway, is one of them.

"My goal here is to get really close to Olympic cuts. So hopefully make the Olympics next year."

However, the Olympic Games may be a bit out of reach for some less competitive athletes.

Serginni Marten from Curacao, a tiny island in the Caribbean, has his own goal.

"Yes, I want to improve my time in swimming. I don't expect to win a gold medal. But at least improve my time so that I will be qualified for other things in the world. Yeah, the Pan-American Games."

Venue manager Liu Yongli says the state-of-the-art facilities at the swimming complex will help the young athletes to get closer to their goals. In addition, his team at the centre will try their vey best to provide a world class service to the young promising athletes and help them realize their dreams.

For CRI, I'm Lv Xiaohong in Shenzhen.