The list of successful Jumbo athletes through the years is not unimpressive, but nonetheless athletics is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Tufts. Therefore, freshman Christy Ren - who represented Hong Kong in the Salt Lake City Olympics - is somewhat of a Brown and Blue marvel.
And possibly even bigger than being an Olympian from a Div. III college is the fact that Ren and her teammate Cordia Tsoi Po-yee, who competed in the short track speed skating events, became the first athletes in the history of Hong Kong to compete in the Winter Olympics.
"It was really amazing when I walked in and saw the people around, the lights," Ren told the Daily from Salt Lake. "It was really pretty. I felt really proud to be there and to be able to represent Hong Kong in its first Winter Olympics."
During the games, Ren competed in the 1500m but failed to move on to later rounds after finishing her initial heat in 2:49.67. The early exit didn't come as a surprise - short track speed skating does not have a storied history in Hong Kong. In fact, it was only introduced to the country four years ago.
"I was a little nervous at such a big competition," Ren said. "I really wanted to do well. I was going to try my best. We are not really at the standard yet to compete for a medal. We just want to beat our own times."
Even though Hong Kong still has a ways to go before it competes for Olympic Gold in speed skating, Ren still cherished the experience. Simply competing at the Olympics, she said, is an achievement within itself. "You know that all your hard work has gotten you somewhere and paid off," she said.
Ren's journey to Salt Lake was perhaps more difficult than most. Training often proves difficult for Ren and her teammates, as Hong Kong gives little financial support to its skaters. The team does not have an official doctor or physiotherapist. And if the athletes train in Hong Kong, they are forced to practice on rinks that do not meet Olympic standards. In fact, most Hong Kong rinks are only one third the size of the Olympic rinks.
"We don't have a standard size ice rink," Ren said. "We only get ice time for ourselves once a week for an hour or so, sometimes we go in the mornings."
Training isn't much easier at Tufts, where Ren has a little something called academics to worry about. And since Tufts does not have an ice rink on site, she had to travel to trek to a rink outside of Boston three times per week.
Without a history of speed skating in Hong Kong, Ren, a former figure skater, has relied on the experience of her coach, former Chinese National speed skating team member Lu Shuo, as a guide.
"I think I have to thank him a lot," Ren said. "He was my only coach. He taught me a lot of stuff from the very beginning."
For Ren, Salt Lake City is hopefully not the end of the Olympic road. She said she will likely try for the 2006 games in Turin, Italy. "I think I'll try and continue," she said. "I wouldn't mind going again."
For now, though, she will re-focus on her studies in an abroad program in China. But that doesn't mean she won't be skating. "I'm going to be studying abroad next semester in Beijing beginning at the end of the month," Ren said. "I hear there's a national competition there, so I'll probably join."
Whether or not she makes it in 2006, Ren said the memories from this winter are quite abundant. When asked what she will take from the games, she ran off a grocery list: "The opening ceremony, walking in with the flag, being part of the whole ceremony, feeling proud and honored to be there, just being able to compete in the Olympics."
