Hong Kong Hopes for Another Olympic Medal in Windsurfing

 

By Parke Brewer¹

Lee Lai Shan competes in women's windsurfing, or Mistral, competition. Her first Olympics was in 1992 in Barcelona, where she placed 11th. But she won the gold four years later in Atlanta, becoming Hong Kong's first-ever Olympic medalist. After a disappointing sixth place finish four years ago in Sydney, Lee who goes by her nickname² San San is back at age 33 trying to win another medal.
For these Olympics, the women are competing on fiberglass boards that are 4.24 meters long and weigh 15.5 kilograms. Their sails measure 7.4 square meters.
San San grew up on the Hong Kong Island of Cheung Chau in a small fishing village. Her Uncle owned a sailing shop and introduced her to windsurfing when she was 12 years old. She used to windsurf after school and got better and better.
She has excelled³ in her sport internationally, and reporter Alvin Sallay of the South China Morning Post daily newspaper told VOA Sports that is rare in Hong Kong.
"Parents normally don't encourage children to play sports mainly due to the pressures of school," he says. "She's a special case, because she has dedicated⁴ most of her life to sailing."
Mr. Sallay said San San is part of a scholarship program in Hong Kong, which allows her to compete internationally.
"There are about 10 or 11 sports where elite⁵ athletes are given scholarships which the Hong Kong government supports by paying them a small monthly allowance⁶ and giving them all the facilities and the training facilities as well as the technical support to train. And whenever they go overseas, they back them with funds," he explains.
As a reporter, Alvin Sallay says it's frustrating⁷ covering windsurfer San San at these Olympics, because she is refusing to talk to the media until after competition is completely over.
"I can understand part of the philosophy behind it," he says. "She doesn't want her attention to be diverted⁸ by us reporters, and there's quite a lot from the Chinese media, Hong Kong Chinese media, following her to be answering questions and all that. But at the same time for a place like Hong Kong where sports is not all that big a priority⁹, I think she should be more forthcoming¹⁰, you know, try to publicize her sport, to advertise her sport by speaking out regularly. It makes life difficult for us, especially when we need to find how she really feels. I mean we can write all the color we want, but to get the exact word from her, the horse's mouth, you know, is difficult. So we have to rely on the coach to give us what happened in his view. Unfortunately we can't get her view."
San San is married to Sam Wong, who himself is a former Olympic windsurfer. He serves as her assistant coach. Her head coach is Dutchman Rene Appel.
Reporter Alvin Sallay says San San was confident heading into these Olympics that she would do well.
"The winds favor her a lot," he adds. "It's generally very light to moderate winds which she excels¹¹ in, and she thought she had a good chance, but what she's not saying is what color her medal would be. Hopefully, you know, she gets gold."
Hong Kong windsurfer Lee Lai Shan turns 34 one week after the Olympics end. She plans to retire from competition and start a family. She'd like nothing better than to begin the next stage of her life with another Olympic medal.
I'm Parke Brewer, for VOA Sports, Athens.
注释：
Windsurfing〈体〉帆板冲浪运动
Compete比赛
Barcelona巴塞罗纳(西班牙东北部港市)
Atlanta亚特兰大[美国佐治亚州首府]
medallist 奖杯获得者
Sydney悉尼（澳大利亚东南部港市）
nickname绰号
fiberglass玻璃纤维
windsurf 风帆冲浪
dedicate to专注于…，献身于…
elite 精英
allowance津贴, 补助
facility设备, 设施
frustrating 挫折的
philosophy 思想体系
divert转移
forthcoming来临
publicize宣扬
windsurfer帆板运动员
assistant coach助理教练
favor支持, 照顾
moderate中等的, 适度的

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

3 excelled   

优于，擅长( excel的过去式和过去分词 )； 胜过平时

参考例句：

• She has always excelled in foreign languages. 她的外语从来都是出类拔萃。
• Solomon excelled in wisdom. 所罗门智慧过人。

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

6 allowance   

n.津贴，补贴，零用钱

参考例句：

• My monthly allowance is 50 yuan.我每月的津贴是50元。
• I have to work to earn my allowance.我非得工作挣零用钱。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 diverted   

使转移[向]( divert的过去式和过去分词 )； 娱乐； 转移（某人）的注意力； 改变（资金、材料等）的用途

参考例句：

• Northbound traffic will have to be diverted onto minor roads. 北行车辆将不得不绕次要道路行驶。
• Traffic is being diverted onto a side road because of the accident. 由于交通事故，车辆行人改走边道。

9 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

10 forthcoming   

adj.即将到来的，可得到的，乐于提供消息的

参考例句：

• He gave me a list of their forthcoming books.他给了我一张他们即将出版图书的目录。
• Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。

11 excels   

优于，擅长( excel的第三人称单数 )； 胜过平时

参考例句：

• He excels as an orator. 他是一个出色的演说家。
• He excels in multiple-choice questions. 他擅长做选择题。