Soeren Mackeben, 29, told Der Spiegel news magazine this week:  “I’ve become more sceptical towards all sides in the meantime.” Mackeben had first proposed wearing the orange robes — the same colour as the Tibetan monks — in an interview in March.   

“I was asking during an interview about the events in Tibet what sort of protest I could envision and that’s when I mentioned the robes,” Mackeben said. “That naturally had quite an echo in the media. In the meantime, I’ve learned that the issue is too complex to take a clear position on it.”

Mackeben said he did not know enough about China, even after studying the issue and paying a visit to China’s ambassador to Germany in Berlin.

“I spent an hour asking the ambassador questions,” Mackeben said. “Afterwards they gave me two bags filled with books. I’ve become too sceptical to put an orange robe one. I want to concenrate on water polo. It’s going to be very difficult to get a glimpse into how China really is.”

Picture of Soeren Mackeben (R) celebrating a goal at the FINA Men’s Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament by Sergio Moraes.  

He’s spent the last 10 summers in the NBA off-season working hard to help Germany qualify for the Olympics again for the first time since 1992 — and the Dallas Mavericks’ all-star from Germany looked completely shattered when his team came up heartbreakingly short in the 2003 European Championships, the qualifier for the 2004 Olympics. 

Nowitzki and Germany again failed to qualify directly for the Olympics at last year’s European Championships as well — but they still could get tickets to Beijing if they finish in the top three at a 12-team tournament set for mid-July.  

It’s not like I really know how Nowitzki feels because I don’t. I’ve never been in the NBA nor have I played for Germany or any other country.

But in a way, I think I do understand.  

Ever since I first saw the 1968 Olympics on TV as an eight-year-old in Connecticut, I too started dreaming about going.

As Nowitzki said: ”The whole thing just fascinates me”.

My never-really-that promising high school basketball career ended at 18 and despite some modest success later on in local triathlons, I knew I didn’t have a prayer there either — and it wasn’t even yet an Olympic sport. 

 When I started working as a financial journalist at Reuters in 1990, I began looking into the “qualifiers” needed to get onto the Olympics reporting team. The competition was fierce. I nevertheless thought I might be getting close to a ticket to Sydney in 2000 but wasn’t nominated.

I felt even closer to making the squad in 2004 but again wasn’t picked, although I did make it on the “alternates” list.  I had pretty much given up hope when suddenly in mid July 2004 the phone rang. Someone on the team had become pregnant and couldn’t go. Was I still available?  

So I made it to Athens at the last minute and have been looking forward to Beijing ever since. I hope Nowitzki gets his mid-July invitation this time too.

Picture of Dallas Mavericks and Germany forward Dirk Nowitzki  by Mike Stone   

Bach has been one of the most eloquent opponents of any boycott of the Summer Olympics in Beijing — leading a lightning pro-Games campaign earlier this year when tensions in Tibet flared.

The man who won a gold medal in fencing for West Germany in 1976 in Montreal was more than happy to talk openly in his soft southern German accent about a wide range of issues.  

But the smile disappeared from Bach’s face when I asked about comments last week from Zhang Qingli, Tibet’s Chinese Communist party boss: “We will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique.”  

Bach had already seen the remarks made in conjunction with the Olympic torch relay through the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.  

“I don’t consider that to be an acceptable formulation, especially at the Olympic torch relay,” Bach said. “It’s essential that one carefully chooses the right words — there is after all a dialogue going on now with representatives of the Dalai Lama. And that evidently did not happen here. That is not the type of language that is appropriate for the dialogue and for the Olympic torch relay.”  

Bach said German Olympians would be free to express their opinions about any issues at all in China — but political demonstrations are forbidden.

“One has to respect the position of the athletes, and by that I mean any position they have.”  

Bach is certain the Olympics have already contributed to a great opening of China and believes the effects will be lasting.

“The Games are definitely contributing to an opening in China. There’s already been a considerable development and the Games will further that development. When 25,000 journalists, hundreds of thousands of overseas visitors and 10,000 athletes from 205 nations come into a country and communicate with the people, all that will leave an impact on Chinese society.  

But Bach acknowledges that the IOC has little say in what happens in China after the Olympics are over.  

“We’re not the supra-national government of any country or the world. What’s important is that the Games make a contribution to promote communication, understanding and dialogue — and on those counts to leave a lasting impact on Chinese society. That is the task at hand for the Games and that goal will be fulfilled.”

Picture of Bach (top) by Alex Grimm, Zhang (bottom, left) by Nir Elias

The fact that the 32-year-old — who began her career for the Soviet Union before its demise and then for her native Uzbekistan before moving to Germany — is twice the age of some of her rivals in a sport long the domain of teenagers is another feat on its own.

But what makes Chusovitina’s tale even more incredible is that her ambition was fired by a battle to save the life of her son, Alisher. He was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia at the age of 3 in 2002. There were no specialist oncology facilities in Uzbekistan and her family had no health insurance. So with the speedy help of some friends  in the gymnastics world from Cologne she moved to Germany, learned German, and eventually became a German citizen in 2006.

“There was no child oncology in Uzbekistan and in Russia you don’t have a chance because there are already so many on the waiting lists,” Chusovitina said in an interview after a high-energy training session in Cologne under the watchful eye of her coach, Shanna Polyakova. “I’d known Shanna and Peter Brueggemann at Team Toyota Cologne for a long time and they organised everything. They found a spot in hospital for me and fortunately we came here.”

Thanks to the treatment over the last six years, Alisher is now essentially cured and only needs to undergo periodic analysis of his blood. You can see a smile explode on the face of Chusovitina when she reports that.

She says he speaks more German than Russian and is even among the dozens of children who take part in training sessions in the same crowded gymnastics hall at the Cologne sports university with Chusovitina.

“He can do everything the other kids do,” Chusovitina said. “Sometimes he comes in here and does gymnastics with the other kids too.  My heart doesn’t ache any more as it did because I can see he’s healthy.”

Chusovitina says she thrives off the energy in the small, crowded and noisy gymnastics hall housing the Cologne team’s young gymnasts - scores of mostly grade school children scurrying around and running through their impressive if unpolished routines.

“The kids are so much fun,” she said. “I’m always taking a look over at what they’re doing because it reminds me of when I was so small before. They have so much fun working out. I’ll take a look and get a second wind because so many little children are running around at my side. Sometimes if I’m feeling tired and don’t feel like training any more, I’ll see them and think to myself ‘You can’t let them see you’re tired’.”

She said the children sometimes ask for advice - especially about blisters. “They’ve all helped me to learn German. I’ll ask them ‘How do you say this or that?’ and they’re always ready to help. Sometimes they’ll correct me, which is a good thing. They’re all learning a little bit of Russian too.”

Spending a few hours with Chusovitina, her coach and about two dozen  enthusiastic young gymnasts in Cologne was the perfect antidote for months of reading worrying headlines about the Olympics in Beijing. On the train on the way home to Berlin, I kept thinking: “Isn’t this what the Olympics is supposed to be all about?” 

Picture: Oxana Chusovitina competes for Uzbekistan during the World Cup competition in Artistic Gymnastics in Moscow in this May 26, 2006 file photo. Photo by Thomas Peter.

Germany is the only country whose competitors missed the 1980 and 1984 Olympics due to boycotts. Germany was reunited in 1990. West Germany joined the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan while Communist East Germany joined the Soviet Union and east bloc allies in boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

So it is perhaps worth listening to the views of Germany’s Olympic Committee. In a statement signed by German Olympic Committee (DOSB) president Thomas Bach, the DOSB said it won’t participate in any boycott of the Beijing Olympics in light of the unrest in and around Tibet — because past experience has shown their impact to be limited.

“After carefully considering all the arguments, the DOSB will send its team to the 2008 Olympics,” said the statement signed by Bach that nevertheless condemned the violence in Tibet. “Sport is not a suitable tool to be used to apply political pressure. Sport is not in a position to solve the problems that neither the United Nations nor individual nations were able to resolve despite decades of effort.”

Bach won a gold medal in fencing for West Germany at the 1976 Olympics, when African nations walked out in protest against a New Zealand rugby tour of racially segregated South Africa.  

But he did not get the chance to defend his medal in 1980 when West Germany joined the U.S.-led boycott. In recent weeks many Germans — both east and west of the Iron Curtain that divided Germany during the Cold War — have spoken out against a boycott, saying they are pointless. Even though some political leaders have raised their voice on behalf of a boycott, the DOSB underscored that view that boycotts do not work.  

“That’s been confirmed by all the previous experience. We believe sport is there to promote dialogue and international understanding. Sport builds bridges, not walls.”

Photo: Thomas Bach, president of the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB). Photo by Alex Grimm

"We're going to do everything we can to see that players who are already on their country's top international team are not going to be called up for the Olympic selection as well," Hoeness told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper this weekend. 

"We're not going to take that lying down. We're going to pull every lever we can to prevent that. It's not going to happen."

The 27-year-old Demichelis, who just missed a place at the 2006 World Cup, was nominated last week for Argentina's Olympic squad, who will be defending the gold medal won in 2004 in Athens. According to media reports, Lucio (29) likewise wants to go as an over-age player for Brazil. His countryman Breno is 18 and was recently called up to the Olympics squad.

As Brian Homewood wrote last month, soccer at the Olympics carries a great deal of prestige in Latin America.

Hoeness appears less enthused with Olympic spirit and that could be bad news for Brazil and Argentina because the long-serving Bayern chief is an old hand at this game.

Ze Roberto, for example, was urged to formally retire from the Brazil international side before Bayern Munich would re-sign him last year and before that there was repeated friction with Elber and his international career for Brazil.

PHOTO: Lucio (L) celebrates a goal with team mate Martin Demichelis during Bayern's Champions League match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, February 20, 2007. REUTERS/Victor Fraile