Harrow Haikou is a school that focuses on building an international and diverse communication platform, allowing pupils to engage closely with leading scholars and celebrities from various fields.
This autumn and winter, British sprint champion Marlon Devonish, Chinese table tennis stars Shiwen Liu and Ziyang Yu, and Australian equestrian champion Andrew Scott have visited the campus in succession, offering our community an extraordinary opportunity to meet and talk with them on a personal level.
Table tennis
Olympic champion
Their visits not only inspire the pupils but also inject a strong spirit of sportsmanship into the Harrow campus.
Let's take a look back at the memorable moments from the first champion meet-and-greet!
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Marlon Devonish
is a former men's track and field athlete for the British national team, specializing in sprinting
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He represented Great Britain at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, and achieved the pinnacle moment of his athletic career when he beat the powerful United States team to win the gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2004 Olympics.
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Seizing Opportunities:
Aligning with Harrow Values
In his speech, Mr Devonish not only shared his efforts and struggles on the field, but also emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities. Drawing on his own personal experiences, he explained to pupils how to have faith in the key moments and seize those fleeting opportunities.
This viewpoint is in line with the Harrow values, which have always been committed to developing pupils' leadership, creativity and critical thinking, encouraging them to face challenges and seize every opportunity in life.
In the auditorium of Harrow Haikou, he shared a personal, little-known story from the run-up to the 150m sprint in Manchester at the Great City Games in 2009.
In this race, Mr Devonish competed alongside legendary runner Usain Bolt and they both broke their personal bests.
Before he signed up for the event, the rules suddenly changed. He and the other runners were informed that they had to run the qualifying rounds before they could get a spot, yet Bolt was able to advance without having to participate. Crucially, the interval between the qualifying rounds and the final was only 45 minutes.
“Do you guys think that's fair?” Mr. Devonish asked the pupils in the audience.
“It's not fair” was the unanimous reply.
“Yes, it's not fair. I told my manager that I was not going to do this race” Mr. Devonish said, “You want me to race against the fastest man in the world and I'm going to run once or twice first? Even if I qualify, I'm already tired. I can't win, it's not fair. If this was the World Championships or the Olympics, things like this wouldn't even happen.”
「“You're in great shape, you've spent a lot of time training for British Athletics. This is an opportunity for you and you never know where it will take you.”」
After much deliberation, he finally decided to enter the race. Mr Devonish progressed through the ranks, eventually joining Bolt on the start line and achieving a personal best of 150 meters. The moment he crossed the finish line, he received a huge cheer from the people of Manchester and joined the other athletes in raising the profile and influence of athletics.
It was only after the race that he learned that Bolt had been in a car accident a few weeks before the race, that he had injured his foot, and that many questioned whether he would be able to run at his former level. For Bolt, taking part in this race was like putting himself in a dangerous situation.
He's already the fastest man in the world, and he could have said, “I'm not going to run”. But even Bolt, with everything going against him, took his chances.
“So, I want to convey to each of you the message that your chances may not be fair, or your chances may be in your favour. Regardless, you must adjust to your situation and seize the opportunity to perform at your best.A lot of things may seem unfair, but everyone carries different pressures and challenges.”
As his coach said, “You never know where this opportunity will take you.” Had it not been for this race, Mr Devonish's personal best might have remained at the previous level.
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Mr Devonish possesses very good presentation skills and he deeply touched every audience with his stories and personal experiences. Pupils and staff present at the event said that they had learned a lot of valuable life lessons and spiritual qualities from this Olympic Champion.
He shared his experiences as an athlete and some lesser-known stories of top athletes, which were inspiring and fascinating and left a deep impression on all Harrow pupils.
Embracing Centuries of Glory, Walking with Champions——
Great athletes visiting campus becomes a regular event at Harrow Haikou
Mr Marlon Devonish's visit not only allowed our children to get close to the world's top athletes and learn about the tremendous effort and growth experience behind winning a championship, but also inspired them to love sports and pursue the Olympic spirit.
In the future, Harrow Haikou will invite more outstanding athletes and sports stars to visit our campus and share their stories and life experiences with our pupils.
As the only international school in Hainan, Harrow Haikou has a strong sporting environment and has achieved excellent results in table tennis, badminton, sailing and equestrian and golf.
Inviting great athletes to school has become a regular event at Harrow Haikou. Chinese Olympic table tennis champion Shiwen Liu and world champion Ziyang Yu also came to Harrow Haikou not long ago to play table tennis with Harrow pupils and provide technical guidance. Last Friday's visit from Australian equestrian champion Andrew Scott also introduced more pupils to the charms of equestrian sports. Just stay tuned for our coverage in the coming weeks.
Close interaction with outstanding talents in various fields brings more than just a professional boost to our children.
A little spark of inspiration, the power of a role model, all of which may become the key to influencing a vital decision in their future life.
