Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Stephanie Norton proud to be first Hong Kong woman to qualify in single-handed dinghy class
- The 20-year-old says not many woman sail in Hong Kong and most people are confused when she tells them she is a full-time athlete, often thinking of windsurfing
- Norton finished third in the Mussanah Open Championships in Oman in April, good enough to secure her a place in the Tokyo Games
Stephanie Norton said she was proud to become the first female single-handed dinghy sailor from Hong Kong to qualify for the Olympics, given most people in the city are not aware that women even sail.
“In the sport of sailing [in Hong Kong], there are not as many women, so I think it’s pretty cool that I can be the first one for a single-handed dinghy,” said Norton, who on Friday ended her quarantine spell after returning from Oman.
“I think there is a lot of opportunity for [for women] in Hong Kong but people don’t know about it much. Sailing is not big in the community and when you tell people you sail full-time, they don’t really know what you mean and are a little bit confused. They think of things like windsurfing.”
Norton’s performance also boosted sailing’s hopes of continuing under the Hong Kong Sports Institute’s support network. The sport’s status at the Institute has been under threat because of relatively underwhelming results since 2014. Qualifying an athlete for the Olympics is a key factor in continuing as a Tier A sport and not only did Norton qualify but other Hong Kong sailors narrowly missed out on joining her in Tokyo.
“It was not only just me,” said Norton, who started sailing at the Hebe Haven Yacht Club. “The rest of our team, we had four teams over there, two double-handed and two single-handed, and I think everyone of us had a shot at qualifying, which I think is something Hong Kong has never had before.”
Hong Kong’s Akira Sakai and Russel Aylsworth were denied a place in Tokyo because of a cruel disqualification. They dominated their 49er Class competition, winning six out of their 15 races. But in race six – which they won – they were judged to have fouled at the start and it cost them 15 penalty points. India’s Ganapathy Chengappa and Varun Thakkar, with only one win in race eight, finished first with 60 points to qualify for Tokyo with the Hong Kong pair on 80.
Molly Highfield and Sandy Choi Wing-choi also turned in a strong performance in the 49er FX Class, winning seven out of 15 races but they finished second by seven penalty points to China’s Chen Shasha and Ye Jin, who had six wins.
Norton said the build-up to the qualifiers was arduous. The squad had actually arrived in Dubai earlier in the year expecting to compete in the qualifiers in nearby Abu Dhabi. However, they received news that the competition was postponed, and furthermore, would no longer be an Olympic qualifier.
It was several weeks before they were informed that the new qualifiers would be held in Oman. “We didn’t want to come home because we would be stuck in quarantine,” said Norton. “It was very late that they announced Oman and we went straight from Dubai to there.
“It was more than one year since I raced so it was kind of tough getting back into it. And with the postponement it was difficult to focus. Conditions were quite good but difficult. There are so many variables in sailing with the waves, wind and current.”
The hardship and sacrifices were worth it for Norton, who said she was lost in thought for a few moments after she had sealed her place at the Games.
Tokyo 2020: sailor Stephanie Norton makes history for Hong Kong with Olympic place but Games heartbreak for two teams
“I think it was like when I finished the race, and there was just this moment of confusion, where I turned to one of my teammates and we were looking at each other. And she said ‘Yeah, you did it’.”
