Head of the US Olympic delegation Charles Lee on Tuesday said the words "I don't know" many times to the journalists, the Chinese in particular, at the flag-raising ceremony in the Olympic Village.
"I'm sorry, because my Chinese is not very good," Lee said in fluent Chinese. "I know you all want me to predict how many gold medals the United States can get in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. It's hard to say and I don't know."
"I think the Beijing Games will be the toughest games in history and that's why I can't predict."
"I read a newspaper which said China, the host sent its best-ever delegation to the Games and it also said China will surpass us in the medal tally. It was also difficult for me to compare this delegation to what we had in Athens. I know you all want me to give you an exact number of how many golds we can win. But I just don't know. I only feel proud of all the American athletes."
Lee said he would not feel surprise if China really surpassed the United States.
"It is Olympiad. If you win, you are the champion. I know that the organizing job of BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) is very good, excellent and fantastic."
Lee hoped that his athletes would spend some time to learn how to speak Chinese in the International Zone of the Olympic Village.
"Because I think the Chinese language is very interesting," Lee said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)