Life's too short to harbour doubt: 72-year-old takes on Cross Harbour Swim with daughter
Mabel Chau took up skiing at 50, sky diving at 60 and running at 70. Today she joins thousands taking the plunge in the Cross Harbour Race
When thousands of swimmers dive into Victoria Harbour today at the start of the annual Cross Harbour Race, one woman will already have set a record.
At 72 years old, Mabel Chau will be the oldest female competitor in this year's open water race, which will see 2,000 participants stroke their way across the harbour from Lei Yue Mun on the Kowloon side to Quarry Bay Park on Hong Kong Island.
For Chau, a retired English teacher who now teaches part-time, her first attempt at the 1.5km race will be more memorable as she will be taking the plunge with her daughter, Ann Chau, 40.
"She's my inspiration," the elder Chau says about her daughter. While Ann - a member of the Hong Kong swim squad during her teens - responds: "No, she's my inspiration."
Mabel reveals that she took up skiing when she turned 50, followed by scuba diving and sky diving at 60 and then long-distance running at 70.
"She has no limits," said the younger Chau, "and she is always young at heart. I never feel she is getting old."
The race - sponsored by property developer New World Group - was revived in 2011 after a 30-year hiatus due to the pollution in Victoria Harbour.
Organiser the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association says it works with the Environmental Protection Department to check the water is safe.
For Mabel, today's challenge will be quite different to her first open water swim in Barbados where the pristine waters are in stark contrast to the murky depths of Victoria Harbour.
But the pair said they were not worried about the water quality, with Ann joking: "We'll just try to not be too greedy when swallowing the water."
Both spent the summer in Toronto and trained with a local swimming group.
Mabel also competed at the World Masters swimming competition in Montreal in August and achieved two personal bests, so her hope to "simply finish" today's race is on track.
"I hope that it will encourage more seniors to become dedicated to the sport and that it sends a message that age is no limit," she said.
Ann, a former marketing professional, started swimming at six and said her two young daughters, aged five and six, were also keen swimmers.
"It's a basic, life-saving skill and now there are more kids learning to swim at an early age which is much better than in my generation," she said.
