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

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Stephanie Norton says she is proud to become the first Hong Kong woman to qualify on merit for the Olympics in a single-handed dinghy class. Photo: RHKYC/Guy Nowell

Published: 10:00am, 1 May 2021Updated: 10:00am, 1 May 2021

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 April the 20-year-old finished third in the Laser Radial class at the 2021 Mussanah Open Championships in Oman, securing her place in the Tokyo Games line-up alongside India’s second-placed Nethra Kumanan. She is the first female Hong Kong sailor to qualify on merit for the Olympics since the qualification rules were made stricter after the 1996 Atlanta Games – where windsurfer Lee Lai-shan became the city’s first and so far only gold medallist.

“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.”