Adversity hasn’t knocked the wind out of her sails
Print Edition
DESPITE disappointment at the Rio Olympics, sailboat racer Xu Lijia isn’t dwelling on the past. Her sights are now set on the Tokyo Games in 2020.
In the meantime, the Shanghai native is kept busy with interviews and public speaking engagements, and will soon resume graduate studies in Britain. Xu remains a hero in Shanghai sports, even despite some online criticism of her sport as “bourgeoisie.”
Xu, who was born nearly deaf in an ear and nearly blind in an eye, won a gold medal in women’s Laser Radial class at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, Chinese mainland’s first-ever Olympic gold in sailing.
However, as defending Olympic champion in Rio, Xu was disqualified from the second of two races following a right-of-way protest by a US competitor.
Boats on “starboard tack,” or those with the wind coming over the right side when facing forward toward the bow, have right-of-way over boats on port tack, or those with wind coming over the left side.
“I got into a problem on the last upwind leg and didn’t cross properly,” Xu told Reuters after the race. “I thought I could make it but didn’t.”
Although she bounced back to the top of the overall rankings after race 4, the Dutch and Turkish teams lodged protests against her in races 7 and 8. She was unsuccessful in appealing disqualifications by the judges.
Xu had been bothered by a shoulder injury during the competition, but she is making no excuses for her poor showing.
“After the scores of race 7 and 8 were canceled, I knew it was not possible for me to make a comeback,” Xu tells Shanghai Daily. “I had had to suspend training for six weeks before the Rio Olympics due to the injury. After receiving anesthesia injections, the first two days went all right. However, coming to the third and fourth day when we had to control the boat in the more windy outer seas, the injury stopped me from reaching my normal pace.”
She adds, “As defending champion, it’s normal to be targeted at by opponents. I can’t change the results, but I will be more cautious and stricter with myself in future competitions and leave no space for controversial protests.”
Looking ahead, the athlete who prefers to be called Lily remains upbeat.
“I will aim for gold in the next Olympics,” says Xu. “What I value most is the preparation procedure and efforts I put into the sport that I always loved.”
After the Rio Games, Xu spent an extra three days in the Brazilian city, planning to do some mountain climbing for relaxation. However, she had to abandon those plans as interview requests from Chinese and foreign media piled up.
After returning to Shanghai, Xu went to hospital every day for treatment. The rest of her time at home has been devoted to organized activities, including an interview with a TV station on her birthday on August 30.
“I can hardly find any time to rest,” she says. “But I feel it’s my responsibility to promote my sport among the public, especially when I’m invited to share my experiences with students, whom I try to inspire.”
Xu says she managed to find some time on the flight back from Rio to do some thinking about her career and her future. Her schedule for the next four years is cleanly mapped out.
On September 20, Xu will return to Britain to complete the second year of her master degree course in Southampton, a port city on the southern UK coast. She is majoring in international business management. She lists her favorite courses as philosophy, critical thinking and culture.
“I like the British tradition of debating issues,” she says. “Students are encouraged to question and challenge authority instead of just accepting ideas taught to them. I will concentrate on my studies this year, and maybe try some other sailing categories, like sloop or long-distance sailing. Then I will spend two years getting myself ready for the Tokyo Olympics.”
Together with a cartoonist friend, Xu wrote a book entitled “Learn Sailing with an Olympic Champion.” It introduces the basic rules and background of sailing to the public in a light, readable manner.
“I want to become a bridge between Britain and China, and find a way to allow Chinese sailors to share the rich sailing resources in the UK,” she says. “Britain has a mature training system for sailors of different levels. We can learn from them, and then adapt what we learn to our own development path.”
Suffering from a hearing problem in her right ear, Xu gave up swimming at age 10 and picked up on sailing. At the time — and still today — sailing is not a common sport in China. In addition to poor hearing, she has had to overcome poor vision in one eye and an operation to remove a tumor in her knee.
“I was attracted by the embrace of freedom and the intimacy with nature when sailing,” she says. “To ride the wind and waves together with your boat, that’s what one cannot experience on land.”
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