Hong Kong's golden girl Lee Lai-shan has added to her trophy cabinet after being named the NIKE/Hong Kong Sports Institute Athlete of the Month - for a record fifth time since the award was established in 1994. The HKSI scholarship windsurfer was July's unanimous winner. The award follows her thrilling performances at the Summer Olympics where she won the territory's first Olympic gold medal in the women's Mistral class event in Savannah. San San said she would treasure the trophy. 'I want to see more and more support given to Hong Kong sports, especially from the commercial field. This is very important and has always been my hope,' said San San, who turns 26 next week. Commenting on her success at Atlanta, the Stanley-based boardsailor said she would like to pay special tribute to her coach, Rene Appel. 'Rene has done a great job. Without his guidance I would not have been able to return with a gold medal,' she said. San San has set her sights on gold at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998. HKSI windsurfing head coach Appel said he was delighted by San San's success. 'She deserves it. Her success at the Olympics was a result of years of hard work. It was not easy,' said the Dutchman.
