Arabella Ng finishes 56th in her Winter Olympics debut, but makes history for Hong Kong in Pyeongchang

Published: 
By Ben Young
Listen to this article

SKIING - The 16-year-old finally got the chance to showcase her skills for the city after several delays to the giant slalom event

By Ben Young |
Published: 
Comment

Latest Articles

‘Oppenheimer’ finally opens in Japan

DSE 2024: To do well on English Paper 2, ensure your style is consistent

Hong Kong schools to hold National Security Education Day next month

We're super proud that Arabella made it so far!

Arabella Ng, Hong Kongs only athlete in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, finished 56th out of the 58 skiers who completed the two runs in the women’s giant slalom today.

She made history as the first athlete from Hong Kong to compete in a snow event at the Winter Olympics, as the rest of the citys athletes have competed in speed-skating events. 

After several delays because of harsh winds, Arabella finally got the chance to showcase her skills on the slopes and punched in a final time of two minutes, 50.54 seconds at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre.

The fact that she completed the two runs was impressive in itself, as 20 skiers unable to finish, while three others were disqualified. Arabella also had significantly less time to prepare than other athletes, as she did not know she would be competing until shortly before the event.

When it became official that she would competing in the games, Arabella’s father Tim Ng told South China Morning Post, “Most athletes would have 12 months to prepare for this event, we have four weeks.” 

Arabella carries the Hong Kong flag with pride.
Photo: Reuters

Whats more, at just 16 years old, Arabella was one of the youngest competitors in the event, and has plenty of time to grow as an athlete. 

Arabella came 63rd during her first run with a time of 1:27.25, but improved on her second with a time of 1:23.29. She finished just behind China’s Kong Fanying, who came 55th with a combined time of 2:49.88.

She was more than 30 seconds slower than the eventual gold medallist, 22-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin from the US, who finished with a time of 2:20.02.

Sign up for the YP Teachers Newsletter
Get updates for teachers sent directly to your inbox
By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy
Comment