Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2002

race at Atlanta, Shan Shan's main rival steered wide, looking for advantage, whereas she herself stayed close to the buoys marking the course and found the w i n d to take her to victory. Such instant judgements are informed by weeks o f research and observation before the races begin. The prevailing winds on the course at every time o f day have to be studied, along w i t h all the currents. Shan Shan arrived in Atlanta a month before the race, especially to study the strong tidal currents at the mo u th o f the Savannah River where the regatta was held. Behind her feat o f athleticism lay meticulous planning and preparation, o f a characteristic Ho ng Kong kind. As well as seamanship and preparation, the champion windsurfer needs the strength and endurance o f an O l ymp ic rower. After 1992, wh en it became legal to p ump the sail for extra speed, windsurfing became a gruelling contest o f physical fitness and power. To succeed, Shan Shan needs to train five to six hours a day, six days a week, throughout the whole year — two and a h a l f days in the g ymn a s i um, r ow i n g, s w i mm i ng and cycling, and three days on the water. To sustain such a punishing schedule, year i n year out, and to race at peak performance, requires wh at Shan Shan sees as the essential quality of a champion, and that is self-motivation. W i n n i n g at the highest level d ema n ds the capacity to p u sh herself, sometimes beyond her limits. Races are w o n in the mind, she says, by dedication, mental toughness, resilience, the ability to bounce back after defeat. Like most modern champions, she uses the services o f a sports psychologist, who teaches her to relax, to switch off, to put all thought o f loss out o f her mind. Meeting the bright a n d h a p py v i c t o r i o us athlete provides little clue to the mental discipline it takes to get her there. N o r mu ch clue to the teamwork needed behind the scenes - coach, psychologists, sports scientists, and above all her husband, himself a distinguished windsurfer, ever at her side. D r aw i ng all these together, Lee Lai Shan has become the mo st successful w o m a n windsurfer in the world. Ap a rt from w i n n i ng O l ymp ic g o ld i n 1996, she has been w o r l d champion three times, gold medallist twice at the Asian Games and twice at the European C h amp i o n s h i p s, seven t i mes H o n g K o n g champion, three times Singapore champion, as we ll as winner of the World Sailor of the Year Award. Right at this moment she is preparing for the next World Championships in Pattaya in Thailand, ahead o f a campaign for a second Olympic gold medal at the Games in Athens. Success in her sport has taught Shan Shan many things. She is the first to admit that she was not a dedicated student at school, putting in what she describes as only 70 per cent effort. After winning the World Championship in 1993, she realized that she could achieve nothing by putting in only 70 per cent effort. This altogether changed her attitude to study. Wh en she was awarded a scholarship by the Ho ng Kong Sports Institute she undertook study at the University o f Canberra in Australia, where she graduated as Bachelor o f A p p l i e d Science i n Sports Administration in 1999. Her degree gives a clue to Shan Shan's future. Feted and celebrated in Ho ng Kong after her famous victory, she has gained rich rewards from her sport. She now feels a strong obligation to give s ome t h i ng back to the H o n g K o n g community 一 a process that has already started w i t h her active p u b l ic role i n p r o m o t i ng participation in sport in the local community. She aims to become i n v o l v ed in coaching or sports a dm i n i s t r a t i on a nd to use her h i g h visibility to promote more active and healthier lifestyles in Ho ng Kong. This i mp o r t a nt w o r k o f Ms. Lee is very much in harmony w i th this university's research and teaching focus on sports science, sports medicine and physical education, as well as its campaign for community and personal health. It gives me great pleasure Mr. Ch a i rman to present to you Hong Kong's most distinguished athlete, Ms. Lee Lai Shan, for the award o f the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. A citation written by Prof. David Parker The University's 58th Congregation 4 5