Paris Olympics: sailor Nicholas Halliday aiming to outdo groundbreaker Stephanie Norton now he has hit childhood goal
- Norton finished 39th among 44 sailors at the women’s laser radial in Tokyo three years ago
- Halliday says he is happy to achieve his Olympic dream after representing the city since he was 15
Nicholas Halliday says he hopes to outdo the achievements of fellow Dinghy sailor Stephanie Norton when he competes for Hong Kong at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.
Norton was the first local sailor to compete at the Olympics in 25 years when she took part three years ago in Tokyo, finishing 39th out of 44 sailors in the women’s laser radial event.
“It’s always a goal to beat your teammate’s ranking,” said Halliday, who will be competing in the ILCA 7 class. “For sure she’s our most accomplished sailor and I think all of us want to take her off the top, but we also very much respect her.”
The 24-year-old, who was born in Hong Kong to an American mother and a Scottish father, said he was happy to achieve his Olympics dream after finishing first at the men’s Dinghy Asian Continental qualifier last December.
“It’s been a goal of mine since I was a kid – I’ve been trying to go for it since Tokyo,” he said. “It’s my first time. I don’t really have any expectations, except just to give it the best I got.
“I’m just going to see where I end up from there, and learn as much as I can from the top competitors.”
