Hongkonger Sidney Chu skates to success
Now, he is not just looking out for his own success.
'I always thought if I ever make the Olympics, my goal is to make sure that the next generation doesn't have to put in as much work as I had to,' he said.
Passion pays off
While playing hockey as a kid, Chu came to enjoy the rush of skating at high speeds.
'I love that feeling of going fast on the ice,' Chu said.
Chu loved speed skating, but he knew that becoming a winter sports athlete would not be easy.
He had to take a 2½-hour bus ride to Dongguan in Guangdong province after school on Friday nights to spend the weekend training.
'I missed out on a lot of school because I had to [travel] almost every weekend,' he said.
Chu added that he was jealous of athletes from other sports who could train closer to home.
But the hard work paid off when he made Hong Kong's team for the 2022 Games.
Sidney Chu waves the Hong Kong flag during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Working towards the Olympics
Unlike many other sports, speed skating 'is very tied to the Olympics', according to Chu. His coach encouraged him to train for the Games. One session on the ice a week was not enough.
'I started going to northeastern China and other places to search for more professional training opportunities,' Chu said.
The speed skater achieved his 'childhood dream' by going to the Olympics at the age of 22.
Mainland social media users quickly embraced him.
He asked himself: 'How can I turn this media attention and this energy into something that I can use back in Hong Kong?'
For the next generation
The media attention helped Chu create more speed skating opportunities in Hong Kong.
He used this momentum to start the Hong Kong Speed Skating Academy. The academy provides lessons for youngsters and aims to improve the sport's popularity.
Chu hopes this will provide a base for young speed skaters in Hong Kong so they will not always have to train on the mainland.
Sidney Chu teaches kids during a speed skating class in Discovery Bay. Photo: Handout
Chu said he would be excited to see an athlete from the next generation of Hongkongers winning an Olympic medal.
'If I can see one of my students in the future go on that podium and win that Olympic gold medal, that would make my dream come true,' the star skater said.
'Even if it's one of my students 10 years down the line, that would [mean] the world to me.'
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