A number of retired athletes have been given an opportunity to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games - as volunteers.

"Being a volunteer is a great honor," Zhou Xinyue, a former gymnast from Guangdong province, told Beijing Youth Daily yesterday.

Former gymnast Chen Xi ushers the Chinese gymnastics team into the match venue on Tuesday. [China Daily]

Zhou, together with seven others, is working as an usher at the gymnastic stadium.

They have to get to the stadium three hours before competitions begin.

"We have to learn the details of every event, our assignments, and areas of responsibility," Zhou said.

Zhou said now that she has retired, she was only too pleased to participate in sports in a different capacity.

She does not regret never having being selected for an Olympics.

Ding Bo, a former fencer, has been seconded to the fencing events to help out.

"The work is not easy," Ding said. "We have set up the platforms, and lead athletes and coaches to their correct locations during each event,"

Ding was a fencer for eight years and has taken part in numerous competitions. His experience and knowledge guarantees he is able to do a good job.

He works with 16 other volunteers.

At the weightlifting events, the volunteers added weights to the bar after each successful lift.

"We need to do it very quickly as each weightlifter has a set time to complete his or her lift. We do this about 80 times during a competition," Bao Ke, a former weightlifter, said.

Chen Xiexia, who won the women's 48 kg weightlifting gold a few days ago, was once a teammate of Bao's.

"Seeing Chen win made me very proud.

"Winning an Olympic medal was once my dream. However, I do not regret it never came true, serving as a volunteer is reward enough," Bao said.

(China Daily August 14, 2008)