CRI听力:The Extreme Sailing Series Graces Qingdao

Sailing flat out on the blue ocean, twelve colorful schooners are racing against each other. At one point, all the multihulls are leaning in the same direction, providing a rather breathtaking scene.

This is the Extreme Sailing Series, one of the world's top racing competitions. This year, the annual series is carrying out its fourth truly global circuit. Qingdao, China's "Olympic Sailing City", is the third stop on the tour.

According to Zang Aimin, deputy director of the Organizing Committee of Qingdao Yachting Races, the city has already become a premier sailing destination and international grade venue for sailing events.

"During different seasons, you will find white canvas shining on the blue sea. These fleets have already become a cultural brand of the city. Qingdao is a hub for sporting events, which makes our citizens really proud. "

Inheriting the 2008 Beijing Olympic legacy, the Extreme Sailing Series in Qingdao is a star-studded affair. The participating yachtsmen include Olympic medalists, America's Cup sailors, World and European champions and even world record holders.

English contestant Ben Ainslie is one of them. Known as the most successful sailor in Olympic history, Ainslie won medals at five consecutive Olympics and holds eleven championships.

"It's great to be back in Qingdao. I should say you are all faces from six years, seven years ago. We enjoyed the Olympic Games here in 2008. But now it is a total different racecourse. When we were sailing in Olympics, we may be 5 or 6 miles out of the sea and here we are right in the harbor. So we have lot of more fun, I think, in terms of interacting with spectators and the short course we are having here. So we are very happy to be back here. We are looking forward to get into event. "

As three-time veterans of the Extreme Sailing Series, the Chinese sailing team showed up with the name "Extreme Qingdao" for the very first time.

Teammate Liu Xue comes from Qigndao. He participated in the 2013 America's Cup World Series and is especially excited to race on local water.

"We have really good communication. Probably due to our previous competition experiences, my language skills, teamwork skills and personal capability has improved a lot. This time, the series is being held in Qingdao. As a local, I feel really happy and proud. My family can sit on the shore to watch me compete. "

In the four days of competitions, more than 20 rounds of races were held. 60 professional sailors from ten different countries competed fiercely. With the help of wind, every elite fleet dashed out in hot pursuit and tried to use the race rules to outwit the other teams.

Despite a crash with the Red Bull team, the award-winning Swiss team Alinghi finally took victory thanks to their top scores on the leaderboard.

The helmsman Morgan Larson spoke about his team's achievement.

"You know it's fantastic racing (with) very challenging conditions. But that's always been the case in Qingdao. It's a great city for sailing, but the wind and current always make real challenge for sailors. Today we sail a great day. We really had a lot of success here in the past."

Since the boats used for extreme sailing are light-weight and their sails are much larger, they are able to travel up to 56 kilometers in an hour. The lightning-fast speed, combined with furious battles, dynamic music and detailed narration, makes the competition exciting and contagious for spectators.

"I want to preserve this moment forever to keep a wonderful memory in my life.

"Compared with other sailing events, this time, the field is close to the shore, which helps spectators get a closer look, thus improving the popularization of the sport and raising public awareness about sailing."

Reportedly, during the 4-day event, there were more than 50 thousand spectators and more than 100 media outlets covering the event. As a city that hosts numerous international races, Qingdao has gradually become the city of sails in China.

For Studio Plus, this is Xiong Siqi.