Hard Work Pays Off: Ningbo Windsurfer’s Journey From Gold Medalist to Star Coach

Qian Hong (back row, second from right) and his athletes at the Ningbo Sailing Center of China’s 14th National Games (Photo: Qian Hong)

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Sailing and windsurfing competitions (together with beach volleyball) will be held in Ningbo – co-host city of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 – this September. Qian Hong, a native of Ningbo, is a legendary figure in the history of Chinese sailing and windsurfing. In addition to being a gold medalist in men's windsurfing at the 12th Asian Games Hiroshima 1994, Qian ranked twelfth in the same event at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games (also the highest ranking among Asian competitors at the time).

帆船帆板是2022杭州亚运会宁波分赛区将要上演的两个比赛大项之一。宁波人钱红，是中国帆船帆板运动史上一个标志性人物——在1994年广岛亚运会上夺得男子帆板金牌；在1996年亚特兰大奥运会上获得帆板项目第十二名，这是当时亚洲选手这个项目在奥运会上的历史最好成绩。

Qian is now one of the star coaches at Ningbo Municipal Aquatics (Swimming) School.

现在，钱红是宁波市水上（游泳）运动学校的“金牌”教练之一。

This star coach was heading the Ningbo Team of Sailing Race and Windsurfing in Hainan when Ningbo Evening News reached him on March 28th. “Our winter training is coming to end and we will return to Ningbo in April,” Qian replied. As sailing and windsurfing are both aquatics and subject to weather conditions, his team travel to coastal provinces in South China – such as Hainan and Fujian – for annual training.

3月28日，记者联系上钱红时得知，目前他正带领宁波市帆船帆板队在海南集训。“冬训即将结束，4月份就要回到宁波了。”钱红说，帆船帆板运动与海打交道，由于气候原因，每年都会前往海南、福建等地训练一段时间。

It was 28 years ago when Qian won the gold medal. “It was really hard since we ran into the change of equipment at the 12th Asian Games in 1994,” he recalled.

回首自己站上亚运会冠军领奖台，已是28年之前。钱红颇多感慨：“1994年亚运会，我们刚好遇上比赛器材更换，现在自己想想都真的是不容易。”

Qian became the champion of the men’s windsurfing competition at China’s 7th National Games. At that time, his equipment was a round-bottom windsurfing board and the rules clearly stipulated that athletes may not maneuver the sail to propel the board forward. However, at the 12th Asian Games this equipment was replaced by Mistral windsurfing boards.

原来，1993年钱红夺得全运会冠军的时候，使用的器材是“圆底板”帆板，而且规则规定在比赛过程中不能通过摇帆动作来让帆板加速。但1994年的亚运会帆板比赛，“圆底板”帆板被“米氏特拉级”帆板取代。

“There was less than a year left for us to accommodate such changes. We went all out whenever weather permitted, trying to familiarize ourselves with Mistral boards as well as the trick of maneuvering. Furthermore, we discussed skills and shared experiences every single night,” Qian laughed. In his memory of those days, “all the team members really went full steam ahead.”

“在不到一年的时间里，只要不是太恶劣的天气，我们就会在水里训练，尽快适应和摸索其性能及摇帆的技术动作要领。每天晚上都安排功课，主要是技术讨论和研究。”钱红笑称，那一年多的岁月深深刻画在自己的记忆里，“真的付出了很多很多！”

After refreshing the Asian record at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Qian announced his retirement the following year after struggling with knee injuries. He served as the coach of the Zhejiang provincial team, head coach of the National Youth Windsurfing Team, and the leader of the National 49er Sailboat Teams. Then he was invited to coach in Singapore for two years. In 2006, Qian returned to his hometown Ningbo and dedicated himself to fostering a new generation of sailing and windsurfing athletes. To his excitement, the team of Ningbo bagged a whopping 13 gold, 11 silver and 6 bronze medals in 17 events of sailing and windsurfing competition at the 14th Zhejiang Provincial Games in 2010.

1996年在亚特兰大奥运会上创造当时亚洲选手最佳成绩后，钱红因为膝盖伤病于次年退役，先后担任省队教练、国家青年帆板队主教练、国家49人帆船队领队等职务。之后还受聘到新加坡执教两年。2006年，他回到了家乡，致力于为宁波培养帆船帆板运动员。在浙江省第14届运动会帆船帆板比赛总共17个项目的决赛中，钱红带领的宁波队夺得13枚金牌、11枚银牌、6枚铜牌！

Amongst his Ningbo athletes, Wu Jiahui, Li Tao, Chen Hao, Yan Zheng, Hong Wei, and Zhou Zhibo have been chosen to join the national team and have won medals in the Games of the People’s Republic of China, the Asian Games and other international events.

他培养的宁波弟子中，已有伍佳惠、李涛、陈昊、闫铮、洪伟、周志博等一大批选手先后进入国家队，在全运会、亚运会和国际赛事中站上了领奖台。

On behalf of the coaches, Qian delivered a speech at the Commendation Meeting for Ningbo athletes at the Olympic and National Games on November 25, 2021. “It’s my great pleasure to see my athletes making rapid progress in competition and wining two golds, three silvers and one bronze at China’s 17th National Games in Shaanxi. I feel proud of them standing on top of the podium.”

去年11月25日举行的宁波奥运全运健儿凯旋总结表彰大会上，钱红是上台发言的教练员代表。他说：“今天我庆幸看到了我培养的队员在陕西全运会上获得了2金3银1铜的优异成绩。看到他们能在大赛中历练成长，夺得冠军，我感到很欣慰。每当看到我的队员站在最高领奖台上的那一刻，我为我的队员们感到骄傲和自豪。”

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou and the 17th Zhejiang Provincial Games will kick off this September and November respectively. “Chen Hao, Yan Zheng, Hong Wei and Zhou Zhibo are Ningbo athletes currently training in the national sailing and windsurfing team. They aim to secure a place and excel in the 19th Asian Games.” Qian further added during the interview that the national team will hold two trials to decide the final list of qualified athletes for the Asian Games this year.

今年，亚运会和浙江省第17届运动会两大体育盛会将分别在9月和11月开幕。“目前在国家帆船帆板队集训的宁波选手有陈昊、闫铮、洪伟、周志博4人，他们今年的重要目标就是争取参加亚运会并创造佳绩。”钱红告诉记者，国家队今年将通过两次选拔赛，筛选亚运会名单。

Under the coaching of Qian, Chen Hao and Wang Jianxiong won the windsurfing championship and were runners-up in the 4.7 laser class competition at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta. This star coach now looks forward to making a greater contribution at the upcoming 19th Asian Games held in his hometown Ningbo.

2018年雅加达亚运会上，钱红带领陈昊和王坚雄获得帆板冠军和激光4.7级亚军。他说，今年希望自己能够为家门口的亚运会做更多的贡献！

Reporter: Dai Bin

Translator: Mei Jie

Proofreaders: Huang Dawang, Zhou Shiyi, Jason Mowbray