AN athletics coach from York, who competed for Britain at the Olympic Games 32 years ago, is battling to win the right for one of his proteges to take part in the Sydney Olympics next month.

Derek Boosey is fighting the cause of 1992 Olympic 10 kilometres gold medal winner Yeuling Chen, the first person from China and first Asian woman to win an Olympic track and field medal.

Yeuling retired from competition after the 1992 Games in Barcelona, but came out of retirement in 1998 and went into training with the Sydney Olympics her target.

She became a United States citizen in April this year and last month qualified for the United States Olympic athletics team when second in the 10km walk at their Olympic Trials.

The Americans received permission from the International Athletics Federation for her to represented the United States in all competitions including the Olympics, but China are blocking her participation in the Sydney Games.

The Chinese case rests on an Olympic rule stating that an athlete has to be a citizen of a country for three years before being allowed to take part in the Games.

Ironically, Boosey acted as national coach for the Chinese track and field athletes at the Barcelona Olympics.

Boosey, who lived in York for several years and has family in the city, is Yeuling's manager and coaching adviser. He is doing all he can to try to make sure she can compete in Sydney,

"Her only hope now is for the IOC executive committee to give permission to Yeuling to represent the United States," he said.

"The rule that China are using to stop her was made to stop athletes changing countries for reasons not in the spirit of the Olympic Games. That is a good point of the rule, but Yeuling retired in 1992 and did not even train for six years.

"Her whole objective of making a comeback in 1998 was because she loves the Olympic spirit. In fact she presented a sculpture to IOC president Juan-Antonio Samaranch and the IOC museum on behalf of all women in sport."

Boosey competed in the triple jump for Britain and the Mexico Olympics in 1968, but failed to make the final 12. He was a member of Belgrave Harriers at that time.

Six years later he moved to Canada as coach of their national athletics team. In 1988 he was made marketing director of athletics in Canada.

He moved to California early in the nineties, becoming director of international relations for a vitamins company.

Yeuling's achievements as an athlete are so famous in China that there is a life-size bronze statue of her in the main square of her home town, Teiling City in Manchuria in north east China.

PICTURE: STRUGGLE: Yeuling Chen fighting for a place in Sydney