Xu left the athletic field for the water track in 1998 at the age of 15. She now trains with 70 provincial team members hoping to make China's Olympic dream come true.

Igor Grinko, the Lithuanian-American head coach of the men's team, thinks his wards have the self-belief to make it happen. "The crews feel they can win it," he said.

Of the 14 Olympic classes, China has won berths to eight. The remaining six, mostly men's crews, still have a chance of featuring at Shunyi Olympic Rowing/Canoeing Park next August depending on how they fare in two Olympic qualifiers in April and June.

"At the world championships, there isn't much difference between the first six boats that cross the finish line," Wang Yue, coach of the women's pairs, told China Daily after this year's worlds in Munich.

Chinese crews won one gold, one bronze, and two fifth-place and two sixth-place finishes in that regatta, where rowing powers Germany, the US, Britain and Australia fought for Olympic berths.

Zhang Xiuyun, a 31-year-old veteran who finished fifth in Munich, will fight before a home crowd for her last Olympics in the women's single sculls against younger rivals like Michelle Guerette of the US.

Zhou Yinian, the 54-year-old women's head coach, has led Team China through three Olympics. He says the Olympics is not an all-or-nothing situation for rowing in the country.

"We will still have the National Games to pump up local teams to continue rowing, but the influence of the sport will remain limited," he said.

Zhang Qing, a senior official from the world governing body of competitive rowing, thinks it is time for change.

"It is fair to say that Chinese rowing has a good chance of finally getting an Olympic gold medal after two decades of development," said the Continental Representative in Asia of the International Federation of Rowing Associations (FISA). "In 20 years, rowing has built up a more solid foundation here than most other water sports. We are just a bit behind swimming."

At the 3-km-wide reservoir in Shaoxing, where Guan's 43 charges train in between history class and English homework, progress is in the making -- and hopefully, one day, history will be too.

"The little kids have to row on the adult's boats so they can't go very fast," said Guan, indicating a shortage of funds that is handicapping the sport. "But you can see them making progress as they grow up."