On Wednesday (Sept 10), my fellow Asian-American friend (Hubert Ho), my boss (Michael Kou) at China International Freight (CIF/TAO) and I decided to see the Paralympics sailing competition (the venue is about 30 minutes from my office). Tickets were very cheap - 10 yuans. For that price, I could not complain too much for the lack of visibility that day.
We befriended a wheelchair borne Australian lady named Jakie Kay and Chris Mitchell, her friend. They build Dinghys somewhere near Sydney. Hubert and I pretended to be seasoned American sailors. You know - the 'know it all' Americans. Jakie and Chris versus the seasoned American 'wanna bee' sailors. We had a little friendly bantering on who is best.
And so the race starts for the two person Yngling (keelboat) competition (notice my mastery of this sports?). Well, the mighty American nuclear powered boat was on first, while the Australian rubber ducky was close second. It was a close race, until....
Half way through the race, Hubert jumped and said, "Oh no, the American sailboat just went down." My eyes being less than perfect, I squinted and could not find any boat with an American flag on the horizon. I yelled, "There goes another gold."
Jackie looked condescendingly at us and said, "You American idiots. They just brought down their sail for faster turning. Those boats do not capsize!" Jackie did not really say the "I" word. I think she had something worse in mind.
Well, the Americans got their gold anyway. No thanks to two 'mentally handicapped' American cheerleaders.
The Philippine Sailing Team
In the same race, we saw a boat that was way, way, way behind. Jackie informed us that was the Philippines' entry for 2-man Yngling race. I was so proud, yet quizzically wondered why they were so far behind. True to my 'joker' nature, I said, "They fooled us (Filipinos) again. They said the race is on for tomorrow."
Actually there is a heartwarming story about this Philippine Paralympic sailing team. Apparently, there is only one disabled sailing person in the whole Philippine islands who competes in sailing events. So, she and her coach set out to search the archipelago (7,000 islands) for a 'navigator'. After months of searching they found a fisherman with no legs and no arms but was agile enough to navigate his boat and fish for his family. Untrained and untested they took the man with them to Qingdao. So off to the races, albeit coming in last. But the Olympics as well as the Paralympics is not just about who is fastest, highest and swiftest, but also who tried their best. I was proud to be of Filipino heritage at that moment.
