Peking set to enter race for 2008 Olympics

Olympic Games

After losing out to Sydney to host the 2000 summer games, Peking is set to enter the race for the 2008 Olympics. Li Ruihuan, a high-ranking Chinese bureaucrat, has told Japanese officials in Peking that China plans to make the bid its top priority during the Central Committee's assembly next spring. A bid by Peking would be a major blow to 2008 hopefuls. Olympic watchers say the Chinese capital would be the natural front-runner if it enters the race.

Slalom kayaking returns to the Sydney 2000 Olympics Games programme, joining three new disciplines: men's and women's trampolining and women's water polo