Chinese Taipei put their expectations of winning a medal on
figure skater Jennifer Don at the 6th Asian Winter Games.
Jennifer Don was born in Houston, Texas. The 22-year-old began
skating at age of 10 and skated for the United Sates until the
2005-2006 seasons.
"Don is likely to grab a medal for us," said Chen Kuo-i, general
secretary of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee here on
Saturday.
Japan appeared dominant in the women's singles figure skating
with master hands Fumie Suguri and Yukari Nakano spearheading the
team to showcase in the rink in Changchun.
Suguri ranked fourth at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games and
Nakano finished fifth at last year's World Championships.
But Don is the skater nobody will overlook.
Don was once the only US skater competing nationally and
internationally at the senior level in both ladies and pairs.
As a pair skater, she won the bronze with Jonathon Hunt at the
2003 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. As a single skater,
she won the US national bronze medal in novice ladies in 2001 and
lifted the national silver in junior ladies in 2002.
After joining the Chinese Taipei Figure Skating Union, Don won
the single title at the regional championships in 2005.
"Jennifer Don is our best figure skater. She is still training
in the United States and will arrive in Changchun on Jan. 29," said
Don's teammate Tsai Hsin-hui, who was attending the delegation's
flag-raising ceremony.
Besides, Chen gave his credit to snowboard athlete James Michael
Hillier, who is also a hopeful for a medal at the Asian Winter
Games.
Chinese Taipei dispatched eight short-track speed skaters, two
figure skaters, two biathletes and one snowboard athlete to
Changchun.
The delegation has never taken up a medal in the history of the
Asian Winter Games.
(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)