
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.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
‘Sweet girl' China top sprinter admitted to renowned university despite low exam score
A top young athlete in China has been admitted to the prestigious Peking University, earning her admiration for her ability to balance academic studies and sport. Liu Xiajun, a 20-year-old sprint athlete from China's national team, has been dubbed 'track and field sweet sister' for her good looks. She has spent most of her time training since she achieved a record result in the 100m in her hometown of Ziyang, southwestern Sichuan province in 2018, reported the mainland news outlet The Cover. Liu Xiajun's score in the national college entrance examination was lower than that of elite, non-sporting students. Photo: As a result of her time spent on sport, like other athletes, Liu's academic scores lag far behind those of elite students. Last year, Liu was offered a place at Fudan University in Shanghai, also a top school in China. But she declined without explaining why. Following discussions with her family, Liu decided to study for another year to prepare for this year's national college entrance exam, also known as 'gaokao' in China. Her goal is to be admitted to Peking University, which is ranked higher than Fudan University, as a student with special sporting talent. To achieve this, Liu had to score at least 460 out of 750 in the exam.


South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong YouTube and Instagram star Jeh Vas aiming to showcase city's ‘special' players
Jeh Vas, the overnight Hong Kong YouTube and social media smash hit, pledged last week to fight for football in the city to gain global recognition. A good enough player to be asked for a 2017 trial at Real Zaragoza in Spain, Vas quit his office job last year to dedicate himself to his increasingly popular football content-creation empire. 'I was saying no to brand deals, because I did not have time to film, so I decided to take a leap of faith,' he said on Thursday. Vas, 27, and his three full-time staff work from 9am to 10pm daily to deliver new content for an audience spanning more than 60,000 YouTube subscribers and 114,000 on Instagram. 'Everything we do is authentic and original; we spend hours brainstorming to generate ideas for the week,' Vas said. 'When people click subscribe, I owe them good, fresh content.' Ahead of the recent Hong Kong Football Festival, Tottenham Hotspur contacted Vas with a 'dream collaboration' opportunity.


South China Morning Post
21 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Elegant World Games judge ‘Mr Ferrari' goes viral on Chinese social media
A Latvian judge in the Latin dance contest at the World Games in Chengdu has gone viral on Chinese social media, with fans commenting on his posture and elegance, which have earned him the nickname 'Mr Ferrari'. Standing at more than 1.88 metres (six feet, two inches), Sergey Sinkins, listed as an official adjudicator at the World Games, drew the eye of Chinese fans at the Chengbei Gymnasium on Friday for his tall and slender appearance, needle-straight posture, silver hair and black suit. As videos and images of Sinkins went viral on RedNote, with people posting about an 'elegance overload', he was dubbed a 'Ferrari' – a Chinese internet slang term used to refer to something or someone that, despite being old, has remained cool. 'Mr Ferrari'-related hashtags have been viewed more than 20 million times on RedNote, and Sinkins was interviewed by local media at the World Games. 'I don't know what to say; I am quite shocked about the whole situation,' he told local media. One RedNote account appearing to be Sinkins has been created on the platform, posting images of the 55-year-old and thanking Chinese fans for their support.