Can Hong Kong make rope skipping an Olympic sport?
Led by Instagram star Cheung Pak-hung and Red Bull athlete Timothy Ho, Hong Kong’s rope skippers are chasing world records — and Olympic recognition
It was the Hong Kong team’s last chance to perfect techniques and choreography under the watchful eyes of officials such as Shaun Hamilton, president of the International Jump Rope Union, and cement the city’s status as a regional hotspot for the sport. And the 160-strong Hong Kong team triumphed, with a historic haul of three world records, seven gold, five silver and 12 bronze medals.
Take Cheung Pak-hung. For the past 15 years, since he was 15 years old, the professional rope skipper and founder of a training club and a rope-skipping app has made Instagram Reels his biggest ally. “When I started, people didn’t think rope skipping was cool,” says Cheung, “but things have changed.”
When Instagram launched Reels in 2020, it was the perfect vehicle for Cheung. “Rope skipping had this potential to be performance and visually driven,” he says. “So I decided to publish a lot of these videos to show new tricks.”
People stuck at home during Covid-19 were drawn to Cheung’s content, perhaps first out of boredom, but being locked down, viewers were more likely to try the solo, social-distance-friendly activity themselves, whether as a pastime or an alternative to the gym.