FADE IN.
Act 1
EXT. ROADS - DAY
Driving, PETER listens to the news. We hear: Ha Si Be 何詩蓓 of Hong Kong, China, has won an Olympic silver medal in women's 200m freestyle - Hong Kong's first-ever in swimming.
PETER (V.O.): It's record breaking. Hong Kong has never won more than one medal in any Olympic Games.
EXT. GOLDEN COAST BEACH - LATER
Peter swims breaststrokes towards the outer limit of the swimming area.
PETER (V.O.): Today is the 12th day after I had my 2nd jab. I believe I can live with the vaccine in my body.
Peter reaches the outer limit.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having saved my energy, I can now swim freestyle back to the beach.
Peter swims freestyle for about 200m.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When compared to Olympians, my speed is at the tortoise's pace.
Act 2
INT. RESTAURANT - AFTERNOON
Having his meal, Peter is glued to a video clip on his phone screen. He sees competitors entering an Aquatics Centre.
PETER (V.O.): Wow, the athletes of women's 200m freestyle final all look very fit. How could 何詩蓓 get a silver medal?
Watching and reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Her English name is Siobhan Haughey. Her father is Irish and her mother a Hongkonger. She speaks fluent English and Cantonese.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She's 23, 1.73m in height and 67kg in weight.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She has coaches from Hong Kong and in Michigan.
Finishing his meal, Peter leaves.
INT. PETER'S NT HOME - LATER
Sitting in a revolving sofa, Peter is still glued to the phone screen.
PETER (V.O.): The "little fish" revealed that she had been approached by Ireland. She chose to represent Hong Kong because she was born here, raised here. She felt connected and was proud to represent Hong Kong.
Watching a video clip.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the medals ceremony, the "little fish" looks and sounds happy. I believe she has done her personal best.
Reading a text.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, she did well in Hong Kong public exams. And, she plays the piano very well too.
Watching another video clip.
PETER (V.O.): The gold medalist in the final event scored a new Olympic record time of 1.53.50, and she was already a gold medalist in the women's 400m freestyle event.
Watching.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Hong Kong's "little fish" came in at 1.53.92.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So the time distance between gold and silver in the final event was 0.42 of a second.
Watching.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The bronze medalist came in at 1.54.70.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The distinctions sound and look like just a little.
Peter then listens to the radio news. We hear: Hong Kong, China's swimming team will not compete in the women 4x200m freestyle relay tonight...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is that right? No chance of getting any medal at all?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Isn't participation the spirit of the Olympics? Those who want to take part must be very disappointed.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Their next opportunity, if available, will be Paris 2024 - not just seconds, minutes or hours away.
Act 3
EXT. ROADS - NIGHT
Driving, PETER listens to the news. We hear: Ha Si Be 何詩蓓 of Hong Kong, China, is the second quickest in a women's 100m freestyle preliminary heat...
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We need individual excellence before we can have team excellence.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It would be nice if Hongkongers would be inspired to do well in their fields.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Relatively speaking, I've become more sporty after retirement.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having played a leading part in public affairs over a long period, I was awarded, in 2014, a Silver Bauhinia Star medal. It's 2nd rank in the Hong Kong, China's honour system.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Apart from that silver thing, my hair has turned silver a long time ago. I won't get gold.
Peter smiles.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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