裘理瑾博士专访——Qiu takes a calm approach to the honor that excited her colleagues

QIU Lijin was destined for a sporting life and that may explain her calm manner when she heard that she had been selected to be one of the Olympic torchbearers.

Qiu, of Fudan University's school of management, will represent local young teachers when she joins the Beijing Olympics torch relay later this year. She will be carrying the Olympic flame on a 200-meter run in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on May 8.

"The special task is obviously an honor for me, but I'm not that excited," she told Shanghai Daily. "I'm working in the sports circle, which means I'll be making contribution to the country's sports development even if I hadn't been picked."

Qiu, who is in her 30s, is one of the founders of China's first sport industry Master of Business Administration program, which is jointly run by Fudan and the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Before that, Qiu was a semi-professional swimmer. She had been swimming since kindergarten. But she quit to choose an academic path before competing for a place in the Shanghai swimming team.

"Although I didn't become a professional swimmer, the years of sports have endowed me with positive characteristics such as optimism, endurance and high-work efficiency," she said.

Qiu graduated in management and accounting after studying at Fudan.

Her solid sports background and connection with the industry not only led her to an emerging new area of sports business management, but also won her a spot in the Beijing Olympic torchbearer competition.

Last November, Qiu was told that she had been picked as one of the torch runners to carry the Olympic flame in China.

The news delighted the whole school.