China will send 416 athletes to Rio Games next month to compete in 26
sports. This was made known during a ceremony to unveil its Olympic team in Beijing. The Asian country finished second behind USA four years ago in
London.
The contingent is made up of 256 women and 160 men.
‘This is the largest ever Olympic delegation China has sent overseas,’
Cai Zhenhua, deputy director of China’s General Administration of Sport,
said.
He added that the delegation has 711 members including 29 foreign coaches:
The youngest member of the delegation is 14-year-old Ai Yanhan, who will
compete in the women’s 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay, while
the oldest is 39-year-old Beijing Olympics shooting champion Chen Ying.
China fielded 396 athletes in the London 2012 games.