RUNNER GIVES UP DREAM FOR FAMILY
Postponement of Asian Games prompts Christy Yiu to call it a day so she can have a second child
Christy Yiu Kit-ching had been putting off having a second child to pursue her dreams of competing at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but on Mother’s Day the Hong Kong marathon runner announced she was abandoning that plan.
With the multi-sport event now postponed indefinitely because of the Covid-19 outbreak in parts of mainland China, Yiu yesterday said the uncertainty of when the Games might eventually take place had prompted a change of heart.
The 34-year-old Hong Kong marathon record holder had wanted to compete in her maiden Asian Games, but acknowledged that when it came to having a second child, time was not on her side.
“I had planned to have a child after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but then I decided to compete in the 2022 Asian Games and then have the baby,” said Yiu, who is married to fellow athlete Chan Ka-ho.
“I’m not young any more, and Ka-ho is four years older than me, we both want to have two children, so we don’t have much time to wait. I don’t think the Asian Games will be postponed by three months, and I would be waiting for nothing if the Asian Games are eventually cancelled.”
The couple, who married in 2014, already have a daughter, Chan Yiu, who is four years old.
Christy Yiu, who competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but just missed out on a spot in the Hong Kong team for last summer’s Games in Tokyo, said the Covid19 restrictions still in force also played a part in her decision.
Because of the pandemic, she only had two marathon races last year including in Italy last May, where her time of two hours, 31 minutes and 24 seconds, was a new city record, but still almost two minutes outside the qualifying time for last summer’s Olympics.
Her other race in 2021 was the National Games in September, where she finished 12th with a time of 2:38:09 following a lengthy quarantine stay in China.
“I was thinking of fighting for a top-eight finish in the Asian Games, but the environment doesn’t allow it, like the National Games with 21-day quarantine before the Games is meaningless,” she said.
When asked if she would return to competition after having a second child, Yiu said her worklife balance had been a mess, but added “it was a mess when Covid19 came”.
Yiu could still represent Hong Kong internationally this summer, at the World Athletics Championships in July, provided her current ranking remains unchanged until the May 26 deadline.
While Yiu is calling it a day, several other athletes coming towards the end of their careers plan to carry on so they can eventually compete in Hangzhou when the time comes.
Swimmer Stephanie Au Hoishun, who turns 30 at the end of the month, and has been training on the Gold Coast in Australia, said the delay would immediately force her to “rethink my training method and mentality”. Before calling it a day at the Games next year, Au, who holds the Hong Kong 100m backstroke record of one minute and 2.2 seconds, hopes to dip below one minute.
Salom Yiu Kam-shing, who won gold with the rugby sevens squad at the 2018 Games in Jakarta, said he had spoken to his coaches and would “officially retire after the Hangzhou Asian Games”.
Fencer Cheung Siu-lun, the 36-year-old foilist who was the oldest member of the Hong Kong Olympic team last summer, does not plan on stepping away from the sport until after the Paris Olympics in two years.
“To be honest, it is quite tiring to train overseas with non-stop tournaments and changing hotels,” said Cheung, who is in Incheon, South Korea, with the team preparing for the grand prix next week.
“However, because my physical strength and health are still in good shape, I intend to stay with the foil squad until the 2024 Paris Olympics before retiring.”