Longtime servant of Hong Kong sport Fenella Ng Gar-loc has been given the honour of carrying the SAR flag at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games on September 15.
'It is a great privilege. Not many people get the chance to carry the flag,' said Ng from her training base on the Gold Coast in Australia yesterday.
After a lengthy debate, Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee officials have decided to plump for rower Ng to lead the 30-strong local squad in the opening extravaganza at Homebush Bay. Among the other leading contenders to carry the SAR flag - appearing for the first time at the Olympics - were windsurfer Lee Lai-shan and cyclist Wong Kam-po.
But in the end it was decided that Ng should be given the honour due to her long service to Hong Kong sport spanning the past two decades.
'Not only has she served Hong Kong with distinction, but she is probably one of the few athletes in the world to take part in the Olympics at two different sports,' said a senior sports official.
Ng, 32, is taking part in her third Olympics and has the unique distinction of representing Hong Kong in two different sports at the world's biggest sporting event. As a 15-year-old she represented the then-British colony at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles as a swimmer. Four years later she swam at Seoul and next month she will be taking part in Sydney as a rower, sculling in the women's heavyweight singles.
