Racing ahead
Jimmy Lee Cho-wai, 15, has overcome a physical weakness to become a member of the Hong Kong athletics team in record time. The Jockey Club Eduyoung College student has slightly deformed feet, but is setting the running tracks on fire with his blistering pace.
Jimmy is pigeon toed - meaning his toes point inwards instead of straight ahead - but that doesn't stop him from running, and running well. In May, he became the talk of the town when he managed to catch up with senior champion Tsang Hon-sing in a spectacular finish to round three of the Xtep Hong Kong Athletic League 2010. Both of them tumbled onto the track at the finish line and judges needed a photograph to decide the winner.
Jimmy is a newcomer to middle- to long-distance running. But, with only 18 months of training, he has broken two junior records and secured his place on the team.
In 2008, he won medals at his school athletics meet. He went on to represent his school at the Yuen Long District Inter-School Athletics Championships, where he came seventh in the 800 metres.
Although he was not entirely satisfied with his performance, he attracted the attention of Alexander Chau Chun-ho, a coach who runs his own club.
'In that race the gold and silver medallists were my students,' Chau says. 'Jimmy tried his very best to catch up with them until he ran out of steam. His determination surprised me.'
He offered to coach Jimmy, but even the most basic warm-ups troubled him. 'My 'pigeon toes' made my movement on the track really awkward,' he says. 'For three months I struggled with elementary training.'
Chau advised him to take up race-walking. He learned that technique in only 30 minutes; other athletes usually take a few days. 'For the first time my pigeon toes gave me the advantage in racing. Alex wanted me to find out how to race best through walking,' Jimmy says.
In his first race, the Race Walking Competition 2009 - Race 1, he was cautious with his speed and posture, but finished second in the 3,000m. He built on that experience to win the next race three months later and set the junior record for 5,000m. In June, he broke the 3,000m record, and this autumn he hopes to knock two minutes off his 5,000m time.
Jimmy gained public attention this year when he won the men's junior category in the MTR Race Walking competition. 'A television station followed me in the race and recorded my winning moment,' he says. 'My friends watched the news and realised I was serious in overcoming my foot problem.'
Though he does well in walking races, he treats it as a hobby. Instead his focus is on the 800m and 1,500m running events. He has shone, clinching several titles and even representing Hong Kong in the Schools Interport Athletics Championships in Guangdong, where he was third in the 1,500m. He joined the Hong Kong team after he ran the 800m in under two minutes to be crowned the top junior in June.
In that thrilling finish, when both Jimmy and Tsang fell at the finish line, Jimmy received a cut on his leg from Tsang's spikes. Tsang clocked 1:59:01 and Jimmy 1:59:17. 'His spiked shoes made a long, deep cut,' Jimmy says. 'The injury has healed but I have a scar. It will remind me of this thrilling race forever.' The injury meant Jimmy could not make it to the first Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Singapore this month. But he takes the disappointment in his stride. 'I have no regrets. I have already achieved much more than I'd ever expected.'