It is very easy to recognize the two coaches of the Chinese biathlon and cross-country teams - Klaus Siebert and Per-Erik Ronnestrand.

Even though they have been in China for a relatively short amount of time, the foreign coaches have shown their ability to improve their teams at the ongoing Sixth Asian Winter Games at Beidahu ski resort, northeast China's Jilin Province.

On the first day of competition, veteran biathlete Liu Xianying led a strong Chinese charge for a clean sweep of the medals in the women's 7.5km sprint.

Her compatriot Kong Yingchao took the silver medal, 4.09 seconds behind, while youngster Dong Xue was third 52.91 seconds further back. Another Chinese, Yin Qiao, finished seventh.

On the men's side, Zhang Chengye won silver with 29 minutes 43.33 seconds, following Japan's Isa Hidenori. Another Chinese skier Zhang Qing finished third, 53.18 seconds behind the winner.

"The foreign coach has brought us techniques that we have never seen before," said gold medalist Liu.

Invited to China by the Skiing Department of China's Winter Sports Administrative Center, German Siebert has been working with the biathlon team for about five months. Although it is still early days, the athletes are beginning to accept his methods.

"Although the foreign coach has only been with us a short time, we have already adjusted ourselves to him," said silver medalist Kong.

"We have improved much in this season's World Cup series, so his contribution is obvious."

The Chinese women enjoyed a superb run to finish third in the relay competition of the biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, last year, with a particular highlight being their hugely improved shooting.

As a biathlete Siebert won a relay silver medal for East Germany at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

He believes his experience can help the Chinese team a lot.

"I have been engaged in biathlon for 25-26 years. It's enough to bring good things," he said. "Another thing I brought is the change in the training system."

The coach praised his team for their performances since he took over, particularly the women.

"The women's team not only has the team advantage in the Asian Games. They did well before in the World Cup. For the men, we need a little bit more time," Siebert said.

"I think we have a good basis for the women's team. For the men, it's not a way from today to tomorrow. I think we need two years."

Despite only signing a two-year contract, Siebert has already set his eyes on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

"It's very interesting to coach here. I think I will win with the Chinese team," Siebert smiled.

"For the 2010 Games, it's a long way. We need a lot of work. The women's team is very young. For the men, it's a young team as well. They must go step by step. I hope to have a longer partnership with the team."

Unlike Siebert, the Swede Ronnestrand has worked with his cross-country team for almost two years.

He admitted that he had brought new training methods to the team.

"Our training is a little bit different from their training before. Cross-country (skiers) need to train a lot. So, more high speed training is important," said Ronnestrand, who coached the Swedish national team for several years.

With his contract also due to expire next year, the Swede said he was keen to stay on longer.

"I have been the head coach for the Swedish team for several years. I want to do something different. So I came to China," he said. "I like it a lot. I look forward to continuing with the team."

The cross-country competition will start from today with women's and men's sprint events, and Ronnestrand is confident about his team's chances.

"Hopefully we get medals," he said. "If we have a gold medal, everything is 100 percent perfect."

The team has made great progress since Ronnestrand took the job.

In the women's team, Wang Chunli captured all women's titles in the Far East Cup of the International Ski Federation and Vasaloppet China 50km ski race earlier this month in Changchun, Li Geliang was beaten into second by Olympic champion Stanislav Rezac by just 10 seconds in two hours 19 minutes and 10 seconds at Vasaloppet China.

"The foreign coaches have brought us new training concepts and methods, which have helped us improve a lot," said Gao Xuedong, China's top ski official.

"They also combined their methods with our traditional ones. We have gained much from that."

(China Daily January 30, 2007)