Xu Lijia wins first sailing bronze for Olympic host

Source: Xinhua | 08-19-2008 20:35

QINGDAO, East China, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese sailor Xu Lijia secured a bronze medal of Laser Radial here on Tuesday, which was the first sailing medal for the host.

It was also China's first Olympic medal in the Laser Radial class, which made its Olympic debut in this regatta.

"I'm very happy to get the first medal for the Chinese sailing team. I hope there will be more new Chinese faces in international sailing arenas," said the 20-year-old Xu.

"I was so excited when the people on the breakwater shouted to me. I experienced what I saw on TV when other Chinese medalists received their medals," she added.

Ranked third after nine preliminary races of the 28-boat Laser Radial fleet, Xu Lijia displayed her calmness and determination right from the beginning of the medal race.

She finished both fourth by the first two marks to block her nearest rival Australian. She moved to the third at the finishing line, netting 50 points in total to seal up the bronze.

"Alough the wind was very light today, I had good strategies. I just had to stay in front of Australia to keep my third place," she said after her first Olympic sailing medal race.

"After 11 years of hardship, I finally got what I waited for. I hope this is only the beginning. I hope I can get better results in the future," said the Shanghai native.

Xu Lijia used to be a swimmer and was introduced to sailing at the age of 10 by a coach of the Shanghai sailing team. She picked it up quickly and was attracted to it since then, because she found sailing more interesting than swimming.