In a banner year for the HKBU Athletics Team, our student athletes won the Overall Championship title at the 59th Annual Athletic Meet held by The University Sports Federation of Hong Kong (USFHK). In addition to this remarkable feat, our track and field competitors set a total of four new records, marking the first time that the University has achieved this impressive accomplishment at a single meet.

Going for gold

Final-year student To Yuen-kwan took home a gold medal in the Women's Shot Put event with a distance of 13.19 metres, smashing the old record that she set herself two years ago. She was thrilled with her performance. "I have participated in the intercollegiate games since 2016, and I've managed to surpass the previous record every year. As this is my final year as a university student, it is great to be able to keep the streak going," she says. She also believes that studying on the Physical Education and Recreation Management (PERM) programme has expanded her knowledge about sports practice and the ways to prevent sports injuries.

Sit Wai-lok, who took first place in the Men's Shot Put event, set a new personal best and USFHK record with a result of 14.41 metres. To Wai-lok, pushing himself further during the time of a pandemic makes the achievement even more remarkable. "The pandemic has caused disruptions to practice and games, but our teammates motivate each other to keep training and improving," he says. "The new record recognises my efforts of the past two years."

Wai-lok appreciates the practical knowledge he has gained from the PERM programme. The Year 2 student says he used to gets a bit nervous before meets, but after learning more about sport psychology in his studies, he has been able to reduce his pre-game nerves.

Running the good race

The past year saw races postponed and social distancing regulations enforced on the sports field, but the constraints have not hindered our student athletes' determination to improve. For Year 3 student and Hong Kong Triathlon Team member Wong Tsz-to, the shift to a virtual classroom has enabled him to manage his time more precisely when it comes to studying and working out. "Having online classes allows me to adopt a more flexible schedule in terms of balancing academic studies and training. Also, since many races have been cancelled due to the pandemic, I could do more high-intensity training, as I don't have to prepare for races by setting a limit on the training intensity," he says.

Tsz-to, who was admitted to HKBU through the 2020/21 Elite Athletes Admission Scheme (EAAS), represented the University at the USFHK Athletic Meet for the first time. He ran the 1500m in 3:59:69, breaking the meet record which has stood since 2013. He also won the 5000m race with a time of 15:34:33.

Further record-breaking news came from the HKBU Women's 4 x 400m relay team, who won gold with a time of 4:01:54, more than six seconds faster than the old USFHK record. Team members Tang Pui-kwan, Liu Hoi-yan, See Wing-kwan and Wong Ying-tung are excited by the result. "We focused on giving our best in the race, and it’s a surprise that we broke the record," says Pui-kwan. She points out that trust among the runners is key to the success of a relay race. 

Also a student athlete of the 2020/21 EAAS cohort, Pui-kwan works hard to achieve success in the classroom and on the field. While she has always been interested in studying physical education, she has also been able to acquire new knowledge and skills in the discipline of recreation management through the PERM programme, and this may open up more career choices in the future.

Besides these record-shattering performances, the HKBU Athletics Team also took home top prizes in other events at the meet. The men's team won the 100m, 200m, 400m Hurdle and 4 x 100m Relay, while the women's team came first in the Javelin and 100m Hurdle.

"HKBU has always performed well in track and field. This year we have a remarkably strong team," says Tsz-to.

"The wide range of sports facilities on campus provides a good experience when we train," says Wai-lok. "Our Athletics Team keeps progressing year after year. We keep pushing ourselves to be better."

The first three photos courtesy of Sportsoho