Siobhan Haughey who? 6 Hong Kong celebrities who used to be national athletes, from K-pop idol Jackson Wang to Cantopop’s Mirror member Ian Chan

Jul 29 , 2021

Jackson Wang, Ian Chan, Stephanie Ho and Ruco Chan have entertained us with their singing and acting skills, but they actually used to be athletes. Photos: @jacksonwang852g7; @iancychan; @honganc; @rucochan/Instagram

With Edgar Cheung and Siobhan Haughey’s wins, all eyes are on Hong Kong in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – but these TVB stars used to be national athletes too

Jackson Wang was a sabre fencer before he joined Got7, while Alex Fong set swimming speed records at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

With Hong Kong’s recent Olympic triumphs – fencer Edgar Cheung winning gold in the men’s individual foil and swimmer Siobhan Haughey winning double silver in the women’s 200-metre and 100-metre freestyle finals – everyone’s got their eyes on Team HK at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But did you know that these Hong Kong celebrities used to be national athletes too?

Jackson Wang

Jackson Wang is a member of K-pop boy group Got7, a solo star who releases songs in both English and Chinese, a fashion icon with his own streetwear brand and a regular guest on various variety TV programmes. But before he was the multitalented hip-hop artist he is now, Wang was a sabre fencer on Hong Kong’s national team.

Jackson Wang spent many of his teen years as a sabre fencer. Photo: @Itsmeploy/Twitter

His father Wang Ruiji was formerly on the Chinese national fencing team and even won gold at the Asian Games. Jackson began fencing at the age of 10 under the training of coaches and his father, and won multiple awards for Hong Kong’s fencing team, even achieving first place in the Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in 2011.

Alex Fong

From a young age, Alex Fong’s father wished for him to get involved with swimming. He was trained under renowned American coach Richard Shoulberg.

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