Renowned coaches Glenn Beringen from Australia, China's Sun Haiping and Chen Zhonghe and Hong Kong's Rene Appel have all achieved a unique feat in their profession - they have led their athletes to Olympic gold medals.
They shared their secrets of success with more than 100 local and overseas coaches at a two-day seminar at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) in Sha Tin. The annual seminar, organised by the Hongkong Bank Foundation, provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and expertise between overseas and local coaching professionals, with particular emphasis on strengthening links between Hong Kong and the mainland.
The seminar was the first event to take place at the newly opened Challenge Hall at HKSI.
'The theme - Quest for Excellence: Olympic Gold Medal Coaches in the Spotlight - was of great interest and benefit to our coaches,' said Professor Frank Fu, chairman of the Hong Kong Coaching Committee.'It is our great honour to have the world's best coaches to share with us their experiences and expertise in coaching the Olympic medal-winning athletes.'
Beringen coached Petria Thomas, who won a gold medal in the women's 100-metre butterfly and a silver in the 200m butterfly at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He talked about how athletes can overcome adversity.
Sun, coach of Liu Xiang, the men's 110m hurdles gold medallist in Athens, emphasised the need to strive for excellence. He shared the story of Liu's path to glory and the training methods that helped make his dream come true.
