1928年阿姆斯特丹奧運會的單人雙槳決賽中，澳大利亞選手Henry Pearce比賽到中途時，船前游來一群鴨子。看著鴨子悠閑的游在水中，雖然自己正在比賽，但是他仍決定停下來，讓鴨子先游過去再繼續比賽。 雖然受到鴨群的干擾， 卻并不影響他奪金牌的命運，他以7分11秒整，以五個船身的領先距離獲得金牌。而他的紳士行為，成為了本屆奧運會最富運動精神的代表。

The place of Henry 'Bobby' Pearce in sporting legend owes much to his feat in becoming the first singles sculler ever to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals; but he was also widely celebrated as the man who yielded passage to a family of ducks. In the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928, Pearce was leading in his quarter-final when he spied over his shoulder a duck, followed by a small flotilla of ducklings, crossing the Stoten Canal directly in his path. He leaned on his oars and waited until the ducks were clear; meantime his French opponent caught up with him, then pulled away to a five-length lead. Pearce went on to win that race and ultimately the final, setting a Games record. The gesture made him an instant favourite with the schoolchildren of Holland.In 1966, Kahanamoku was the first inductee into the Surfing Hall of Fame.

Pearce dominated world sculling, winning the Olympic title again in Los Angeles in 1932, then reigning for 12 years from 1933 as world professional champion. In England in 1928 on his way to the Amsterdam Games, he was deemed ineligible to compete in the Diamond Sculls at Henley, under archaic rules which barred tradesmen - he was a carpenter then. In 1930, after winning the Empire Games single sculls at Hamilton, Ontario, Pearce accepted an offer from Lord Dewar, the Scotch whisky tycoon, to become his Canadian sales representative. When Dewar nominated Pearce for Henley again, it was under the stated occupation of whisky salesman. The regatta committee accepted him, and he went on to win the Diamond Sculls easily.

(南開大學通訊員 孫偉 王樂迪投稿）  


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