bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Ernest Kao

She’s 93, her hearing isn’t great and she sometimes needs the help of a walking stick.
But Cheung Suet-ling, Hong Kong’s oldest contestant at the recent indoor World Masters Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, says she will continue to participate in masters sporting events as long as she’s able to.
While Hong Kong has won gold medals at outdoor masters events before, the nonagenarian brought sporting pride to the city last Tuesday after earning its first gold medal at an indoor event.
Cheung competed against two others in the women’s 60-metre event in the under-90 category.
A shining example of why the elderly should stay active
Although she finished third in a time of 25.73 seconds, Cheung was crowned champion because she was the sole competitor in her age group.
Christa Bortignon of Canada, who is a sprightly 80, won the race in 10.56 seconds.
Days later, Cheung bagged another gold by finishing the women’s 200-metres in a time of two minutes, 24.19 seconds.

“I’m happy. I had a lot, a lot of fun,” she told reporters at the airport after arriving back in the city on Sunday with her two medals dangling proudly from her neck. “If they give me the opportunity I’ll go again.”
It was the third time Cheung had represented Hong Kong in a masters event.
Cheung, a housewife, said she only took up the sport last year because her daughter, Lai Yin-mei, was an athlete and had convinced her to participate.
Lai, 58, nabbed a silver medal for her age group in the pentathlon event.
“It was only last September that I managed to persuade her to come to the sports ground with me to try it out,” Lai said. “We had a trainer show her some basic exercises and she said ‘that easy?’”
Before training for the event, Cheung said she had never been much of a runner or an athlete. She has never had professional training. “I never really ran much, but when I was younger, in my teens, I roller skated and danced.”
Masters athletics events are aimed at promoting sport among people who are aged 35 or older. Around 4,000 athletes from 60 countries participated in the recent Daegu championships.


Double gold winner, 93, gets hero’s welcome on return to Hong Kong

Nonagenarian Cheung Suet-ling (right) proudly displays her two gold medals with daughter Lai Yin-mei. Photo: Nora Tam

93-year-old Cheung Suet-ling claimed a gold medal for Hong Kong on Tuesday at the 2017 World Masters Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Pls credit : Hong Kong Delegation to Daegu

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Cheung Suet-ling says she only took up the sport last year because her daughter was an athlete and convinced her to participate


Double gold winner, 93, gets hero’s welcome on return to Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Cheung Suet-ling says she only took up the sport last year because her daughter was an athlete and convinced her to participate

Cheung Suet-ling says she only took up the sport last year because her daughter was an athlete and convinced her to participate