Qingdao Redemption by Zhang Xiaomin and Huang Yanhong
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Ü9]abaf_ÜFdqeha[ÜJYadaf_ÜI]_YllY 9]abaf_ Fdqeeha[ÜJYadaf__ÜI]_YllY 24 TUESDAY AUGUST 19, 2008 Tourists Aussies fi nd throng to Qingdao redemption By Zhang Xiaomin and Huang Yanhong Growing up in one of Sydney’s QINGDAO: The ongoing Olym- Winning gold the best way to leading sailing families, Wilmot pic sailing competition has at- began his involvement in the tracted tourists and fans from erase terrible memories in Athens sport at age 4. His father Jamie all over the world to this coastal competed in the 1984 Games, city in Shandong province. By Zhao Ruixue recovered. The penalty eventu- while his uncle Bobby took part In addition to a spectator ally resulted in them fi nishing in 1984 and 1988 Games. breakwater that can accommo- well back in the fl eet and 12th Besides sailing, Wilmot date nearly 10,000 people, the QINGDAO: Australian sailors place overall. swam at the state level until nearby Olympic Sailing Center Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm “Our biggest issue was psy- he was 13, played football for is a magnet to thousands of Page found Olympic redemp- chology. It was our fi rst Olympics 10 years and won a South Pa- residents and visitors. tion yesterday, winning a and I don’t think we appreciated cifi c Championship for dancing Louise Georgsen and Iben gold medal in the men’s 470- what it was. We also made little when he was 11 years old. Stubbe wearing Dannebrog T- class to make up for a medal errors that compounded and let At 5, Page was placed onto a shirts are eye-catching among wipeout at the 2004 Athens it slip away,” Page said of the boat tied to his grandparents’ the spectators. Games. Athens Games. wharf on the Lane Cove River. “We will stay in Qingdao for The pair’s 22-point lead “It is a matter of experi- “I bawled my eyes out. I hated a week, traveling around and over nearest rivals, brothers ence — we were not consistent every minute of it,” he recalled. cheering for our team. The city Sven and Kalle Coster of the enough, sometimes going up At 8, he got over the fear of sail- is so beautiful,” said Georgsen. Netherlands, gave them an un- and down like a yo-yo. Some- ing and began racing. “Qingdao is a brilliant city. I assailable margin going into times pushing it too hard and like it very much. I think our yesterday’s medal race. not pushing it enough at other Another Aussie gold sailors can win three to four But the Dutch duo ended up times,” Wilmot said. Fellow double-handed dinghy gold medals here,” said Philip out of the medals after fi nishing The duo then won the ISAF pair Elise Rechichi and Tessa Anderson from Britain, an en- seventh in the fi nal, in which Sailing World Championships Parkinson — dubbed “Perth’s thusiastic sailing fan. double points are scored. three times and came to Qin- pocket rockets” — then made Scenic spots such as the Britain’s Nick Rogers and Joe gdao ranked world No 1 in the it a day to remember for the May 4th Square near the sail- Glanfi eld won silver and France’s men’s 470 class. Australians by claiming the ing venue and the Badaguan Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier To cope with Qingdao’s light women’s 470 class gold. area famous for its European Bausset took bronze. winds, the duo stick to tough Marcelien de Koning and style architecture are host to “This is without doubt the exercise and a dietary regime Lobke Berkhout of the Nether- numerous foreign tours daily. highlight. It’s what we have that resulted in Wilmot losing lands took silver and Fernanda Many visitors choose to swim been working for ever since 10 percent of his body weight Oliveira and Isabel Swan of and enjoy the sun at the First Athens,” Wilmot said. at 60kg. Brazil grabbed the bronze. Bathing Beach. Wilmot and Page went to “The diet is very hard for us, Rechichi and Parkinson “The most charming for me is the Athens Olympic Games especially for Nathan, who is crossed the fi nish line of their the contrast between two parts as favorites for medals as the 183cm tall and trying to get medal race in ninth place, but it — the old and the modern," said reigning world champions and to 60kg. No matter how you was enough to secure gold after Nadia Lysjuk from Russia. the No 1 crew in their class in modify your sail, losing weight their nearest rival, the Nether- “People here are smiling, very the ISAF world rankings. is the best thing to gain speed,” lands, failed to make up enough shiny with Chinese faces, happy But their campaign got off Page said. ground to trouble them. and energetic. It leaves one of the to a disastrous start with a The pair said they now plan brightest impressions of my life," disqualification in race two to retire from 470 because stay- Agencies contributed to the she added. from which they never fully ing thin has been so taxing. story Olivier Fleitz from France said Qingdao is like the south of his country. “The city is a good destination for tourists. We have the sea, the mountains. The weather is very nice,” he said. Visitors and spectators speak highly of the services and facilities provided by the local government. “People here are very friend- ly. There are many volunteers on the streets. They really help a lot,” said Zhuang Ruming from Beijing. Altogether 1,000 city volunteers and 10,000 from all walks of life are offering help on the streets, providing consulting, emergency aid and language services. A multilingual call center Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page of Australia, sailing in the men’s 470 class, compete for gold Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson of Australia celebrate after winning the gold medal in the was set up to provide language during the Beijing Olympic Games in Qingdao yesterday. Ju Chuanjiang women’s 470 class during the Beijing Olympic Games in Qingdao yesterday. Ju Chenghao services for the tourists. The 100 volunteers working in the center can answer calls in eight languages, including English, Japanese and Spanish. According to Wang Jiangong, Enjoying fun and success, brothers at the center of limelight director general of the city’s tourism bureau, the Olympic By Zhang Ying The German duo won the and Stevie Morrison and Ben tion between skipper and crew professionally and personally Sailing on that kind of boat is regatta will attract more bronze medal while the Ital- Rhodes from Britain, winners is the most important thing.” in their pursuit of the 2008 really exciting. It is our favorite visitors by promoting the city’s ians tied for fourth. of the Olympic test event in When the two started their Olympic goals. class we ever sailed. reputation worldwide. QINGDAO: Many brothers and “Sailing with my brother in Qingdao last year. sailing career together, Pietro, At the very beginning, “49er races are fast and In recent years, Qingdao’s sisters are teamed together bat- the Olympic arena is very excit- Racing was intense, but “the four years junior, was a green the brothers didn’t have a technical, so keeping the boat tourism witnessed a growth tling in Qingdao to realize their ing,” said Pietro. stress is important — it helps hand. Only his strong elder real coach, but their father, under control really challenges rate of 33.4 percent each year. Olympic dreams. Fierce competition started you maintain concentration”, brother knew how to manage who sailed in the 1972 Munich us. Last year, one million foreign Two pairs of brothers, Jan-Pe- from the first day of 49er said Pietro. “It is important to the boat at that time. Olympic Games, gave them “It is most important to fi nd visitors fl ocked to the city. ter Peckolt and Hannes Peckolt races on Aug 10, with all the focus the stress toward a posi- The 32-year-old Gianfranco advice. fun in training and competi- Wang said that the local from Germany and Pietro Sibello top sailors in the class joining tive result.” remains the skipper while 28- Talking about their love for tion,” noted the brothers. government invested 5.3 billion and Gianfranco Sibello from field, including Athens gold “Our strength is that we are year-old Pietro serves as crew, 49er, the brothers said: “the “For us, sailing a lot of yuan ($771.2 million) to refur- Italy, are among those who are medalists and world’s top- brothers,” he added. “We know following his brother’s orders skiff is so attractive to us hours with a brother is a kind bish and upgrade more than 100 title contenders in the 49er-class ranked pair Iker Martinez and what is going on with the other and advice on the boat. — you must have both speed of enjoyment not many people star hotels and travel agencies medal race on Sunday. Xabier Fernandez from Spain, all the time, and the coordina- They have grown both and coordination to control it. have.” before the Games. Danes Warrer, Ibsen keep 49er gold after protest QINGDAO: Denmark’s Jonas mast just before racing started. was confirmed by a protest “Right when the mast once. Warrer and Ibsen were Warrer and Martin Kirketerp They rushed back to port and jury. “I couldn’t have written broke, I thought it was all fi ghting the weather in a boat Ibsen were awarded the gold borrowed the skiff from the a greater thriller.” over.