SA Olympic team arrive in Beijing

BEIJING, CHINA - Aug 06 2008 14:22

"It's the easiest arrival into China ever." That was the comment of Team South Africa's chef de mission, Hajeera Kajee, on Wednesday at the athletes' village after the arrival of the team in Beijing.

"We were through passport control, customs and had our baggage so quickly; next thing we were on the bus to the village," he said.

The team left their holding camp in South Korea in the morning for their China Air flight that, according to the initial information provided to the media, had a Cathay Pacific flight code for a flight that was not supposed to land in Beijing.

Information updated less than an hour before the plane landed had not just the media but also the South African embassy's minister plenipotentiary, Dave Malcomson, standing at the official Olympic welcoming channel for more than two hours.

An hour after the expected landing time, a call from media liaison officer Linda Ferns informed the welcoming contingent that the team were already in the bus.

"We were just as surprised. We know that internationally you enter at terminal three, but the Chinese authorities classified our flight as a charter because we had 135 passengers in a 150-seater plane, so we were diverted through to another terminal.

"We weren't informed about the changes before take-off. So we were surprised not to see our project team at the airport," said Kajee.

"That [the change] was the decision of the Chinese authority and we know what we are dealing with -- I stood for 30 minutes in security with my bag just because I had a string of beads. That's what we are going to be dealing with here -- high security."

Asked if contact would be made with the embassy to clarify the incident, he said there was a function planned for Thursday evening where they will meet.

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On arrival, team members busied themselves unpacking and settling into their Games home, which are three- and four-bedroom apartments located just outside the Olympic Green and within walking distance of many competition venues.

"The conditions here are fantastic. When I asked Ryk Neethling what he thought, he simply said, 'Awesome,'" said Kajee.

Later on Wednesday some of the swimmers planned to have a short training session, but the serious work starts on Thursday, with the official flag-raising ceremony scheduled for 10am Beijing time. -- Sapa

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SA Olympic team arrive in Beijing

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