SHE is a die-hard fantasy book fan, and yesterday Elizabeth Yin lived out
one of her own.
The 17-year-old became Singapore's first woman sailor to qualify for the
Olympics, after finishing 19th in the 116-strong fleet at the Laser Radial
World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
That result was good enough to gain one of the six 2008 Olympic berths
on offer at the final Laser Radial qualifier.
Singapore's two other representatives, Lo Manyi, 20, and Victoria Chan,
17, finished 35th and 65th respectively. France's Sarah Steyaert was
first.
For Elizabeth, the Olympics has been a fantasy since she began sailing
six years ago during her days at St Hilda's Primary.
She started on the Laser Radial less than two years ago, after winning
the 2006 Byte World Championships women's event.
The Byte is a smaller boat used by youngsters transitioning to Olympic
classes like the Laser Radial.
The qualification left the former school swimmer over the moon.
'I wasn't thinking about this year's Olympics,' the Victoria Junior College
student told The Straits Times over the phone from the Takapuna Beach
race site.
'I didn't expect to qualify. I just wanted to do my best, gain experience
and get better at sailing. I'm very happy with my performance.'
This is the third boat class that Singapore has qualified for at the
Olympics. The sailing events will be held in Qingdao, on China's north
east.
Chung Peiming and Roy Tay earned a slot for the 470 Men at last year's
World Championships, while Koh Seng Leong won a berth for the Laser at
last month's Laser World Championships.
Previously, Stanley Tan had been the only local sailor to qualify on merit
for the Olympics when he earned his Laser slot for Athens 2004.
However, Elizabeth's place for the Olympics is not guaranteed.
SingaporeSailing will decide on Singapore's representative after trials.
Six days ago, qualification was not on her radar.
After the first day of racing, she was the worst-placed Singaporean in
76th spot. Strong 19-knot winds had left her 41st and 33rd in the opening two races.
But, as the 10-race regatta progressed and the winds died to 8 knots,
five top-15 finishes - including a stunning win in race 7 - saw her climb
into contention.
'The first day went badly because of the strong winds - I'm not very good
at that. But the winds became lighter and I got better' she said.
The 1.66m-tall sailor was smaller and lighter compared to most of her
rivals, and that helped her boat travel faster in light winds.
'I was very happy and excited when I won the race, and it was only then
that I thought I had a chance.'
SingaporeSailing's Olympic squad high performance manager and team
manager Peter Logan hailed her feat amid a stellar field that included
reigning and former world champions.
She finished ahead of last year's World Championship silver medallist
Sari Multala of Finland who was 20th.
'Elizabeth is young and it was her first Laser Radial Open World
Championship,' he said. 'We were surprised that she qualified. But, if you
saw the quality of the sailing she did, you wouldn't be.'
SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping said: 'The sailors operate as a
team. They push each other and that raises everyone's standards.
'We thought Victoria was the strongest of the three. But there was
someone else able to take over. Elizabeth's qualification is truly a team
effort.'
For a long time, Elizabeth had been in the shadows of 2006 Laser 4.7
world and European champion Victoria.
She was a reserve for last July's Isaf Youth World Championships Laser
Radial event behind Victoria, who finished fifth.
At last June's Singapore Laser Trophy, she was second, 11 points behind
Victoria.
'It feels good not being the bridesmaid any more,' said the daughter of an
IT professional and housewife. 'I'm sort of living out my own fantasy
now.'
In her favourite fantasy novel, Sabriel, author Garth Nix poses the
question: 'Does the walker choose the path or the path the walker?'
Who knows? Elizabeth certainly looks to be on the right path to Qingdao.
EACH nation is allowed only one entry in each of the 11 Olympic sailing
events. Host China automatically gets a slot in each event.
For the Laser Radial - the women's Olympic class - 20 of the 26 available
berths were allocated at last July's Isaf World Championships in Cascais,
Portugal, the first Olympic qualifier.
The six remaining slots were decided at last weekend's Laser Radial
World Championships in Auckland, where 116 sailors from 40 nations
took part.
Of the 40 countries, 23 had yet to qualify. Elizabeth Yin finished 19th to
give Singapore second place the 23 nations and Olympic qualification.
But the Laser Radial sailor who will represent Singapore may not
necessarily be Elizabeth. Likewise the Men's International 470 and Laser
events, for which Singapore has also qualified.
The team will be decided by SingaporeSailing through a series of
selection trials in Europe.
Singapore athletes who have qualified:
Athletics: Zhang Guirong, age 30 (shot put)
Sailing: Elizabeth Yin, 17 (Laser Radial); Koh Seng Leong, 24
(Laser); Roy Tay, 24, and Chung Peiming, 25; Xu Yuanzhen, 22, and
Terence Koh, 19 (470)
Note: These sailors earned a slot for Singapore but may not compete at
the Olympics.
Shooting: Lee Wung Yew, 41 (trap)
Swimming: Quah Ting Wen, 15 (400m individual medley), Tao Li, 17
(100m butterfly), Bryan Tay, 19 (200m freestyle), Nicolette Teo, 21
(100m and 200m breaststroke)
Table tennis: Gao Ning, 25 (men's singles), Yang Zi, 23 (men's
singles), Li Jiawei, 26 (women's singles), Wang Yuegu, 27 (women's
singles), Feng Tianwei, 21 (women's singles).
All qualifiers are subject to the Singapore National Olympic Council's
approval.
