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發表於 9-7-2009 20:56
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本帖最後由 kameyou 於 9-7-2009 20:58 編輯
Hannah Wilson was last night tipped to bring more glory for Hong Kong after becoming the first athlete to win a medal - and a gold at that - at the World University Games.
Wilson, who denounced her British citizenship in order to participate in the World University Games, won the women's 100-metre freestyle in a time of 54.35 seconds in Belgrade, Serbia.
The 20-year-old, a second year student at the University of California at Berkeley, also shattered her Hong Kong record of 55.32 seconds, set at the Beijing Olympic Games last summer, and that will earn her a hefty HK$250,000 cash award from the Sports Institute's Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme.
The Olympic record is 53.12 set by German Britta Steffen in Beijing last year.
Hong Kong head coach Chan Yiu-hoi predicted a rosy future for the fast-improving Wilson. "Hannah has made great progress since she moved to the US in 2007," he said. "She has a great team of swimmers at the university where they can provide the best training environment. She still has room for improvement and will win more medals for Hong Kong in future."
Wilson's mother, Jane, said from Belgrade last night: "This is great news for Hong Kong as a home-grown talent has won a gold medal in a world-class time. She never expected to win in such a good time. She just goes out and enjoys swimming."
The head of the Hong Kong delegation, Patrick Chan Ping-cheung, said he had witnessed athletes winning medals at individual sports at world university championships before but never in a multi-sports Games. "Hannah has done us proud," he said.
Coach Chan said they had targeted the Belgrade Games as a major breakthrough for medals. "We know Hannah has the quality to compete against the world's best and we had to choose between the university games and the world championships [next week]," he said. " In the end, we thought a medal at the university games would have a bigger impact than a place in the world championships final and we decided to focus on the Belgrade Games. I am very happy the strategy has worked."
The world championships, featuring the world's best swimmers, start in Rome next week. Many top swimmers have opted for the higher-profile event, but Chan said Wilson's effort should not be undervalued.
Backstroker Sherry Tsai Hiu-wai, who has graduated from the same university, said the training methods in Berkeley had proved a revelation for her teammate. "She has reached another level after training in Berkeley where your teammates and coaches push each other hard under an intense programme," said Tsai. "She has just started to benefit from the programme there and I am sure she will continue to improve and make a splash at the London Olympics in 2012."
Having won her first gold medal, Wilson was last night on course for a second after emerging with the best time in the 100m butterfly heats where she set another Hong Kong record of 59.21 seconds.
Wilson came sixth in the 50m butterfly final on Monday after setting another record of 26.66 seconds in the semis. Wilson still has the 50m and 200m freestyle before the event ends on Saturday. |
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