Beijing 2022: 6,000km drives, injuries and ‘dying outside’ – how Hong Kong skiers Adrian Yung, Audrey King made it to Winter Olympics

Winged by his two Winter Olympics-bound stars, Hong Kong alpine skiing head coach Marko Rudic was grinning from ear to ear while calling in to the “Beijing Here We Come” meet-and-greet from his native Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday.

In two weeks, 17-year-old Adrian Yung Hau-tseun and 19-year-old Audrey King will be among the world’s best at the Xiaohaituo Alpine Skiing Field in Yanqing, northwest Beijing, after surviving a toilsome qualifying campaign.

Rudic, 32, considered one of his country’s most decorated skiers, said he was “beyond proud” of Team Hong Kong’s achievements – but what local fans and media see is not even the half of it.

“Usually you only see when a team succeeds – you don’t see the story behind it. People don’t understand the effort we go through,” he said.

“Waking up at five in the morning, driving 6,000km a month to cover all the races and training. Even when you’re literally dying outside, you’re still pushing through the conditions. Injuries, cancellations, nobody sees that.

“The whole process of training and competing was very demanding with the Covid-19 pandemic. We didn’t know if we could cross borders to go to training spots because of restrictions.”

They eventually found a training hub in the Jacorina Ski Resort, a 1984 Winter Games venue, and rather poetically where Rudic’s own Olympic dream began.

“It was stressful through the whole summer but I tried not to show it to the athletes. But despite the challenges, we made it,” Rudic said.

“It’s very important to tell the public that it’s not been easy – it doesn’t come easy. But if you really like something, like Audrey and Adrian, and put in the hard work, it eventually pays off.”

Having himself competed at the 2010 Vancouver and Sochi 2014 Games and multiple world championships, Rudic knows what the Olympic-debuting pair are going through.

“I was also around 19, 20 at my first Olympics, quite young,” he recalled.

“I was so proud and it took me time to realise what I had achieved. With [Yung and King], I tried not to think about the Olympics until we officially qualified, so as not to put too much pressure and to try to let them do their best skiing.

“When we realised both had qualified, it was very emotional for all of us. Whatever they do at the Olympics, they have my complete support.”

The coaching staff’s emotions were more than warranted considering how far they have come. Then a ski school technical director, Rudic vividly remembers meeting the Ski Association of Hong Kong contingent in the French Alps.

There were hesitations, to say the least, given that alpine skiing is considered one of the most physically demanding of all winter sports.

“I’ve been with them from almost the beginning. The first time we went for a ski camp in Val Thorens, when I saw the whole situation I wasn’t sure I could take over the Hong Kong team. It just looked like another school trip to me,” he said.

“We basically started from ground zero. But to see them grow up through the process, how much they’ve improved and learned, how much the team has been through, what future projects we have, it’s an honour to be on this team.

“All the people behind the project, the Association, the parents, it couldn’t be done without them. It’s been a roller-coaster and now we’re doing our final preparations to try to make Hong Kong proud.”

Another oft overlooked element of winter sports is pricey training equipment and facilities. The Association officially partnered with Chinese-owned French-headquartered tourism operator Club Med in 2017 to help ignite a new generation of local winter sports enthusiasts.

“The main contribution is when we host the athletes in our resorts for our training camps,” general manager of Club Med Hong Kong, Stuart de Bourgogne, said. Of the 280 Hong Kong youths enrolled in previous programmes in resorts in China, Japan and the Alps, 50 have become Ski Association members.

“We arrange with ski destinations to have dedicated slopes for them to train on, as well as benefit from our ski facilities and equipment,” De Bourgogne added.

“We also work with different schools and they come through either as a group or with parents. The Ski Association is present at the resort, and it’s one-and-a-half days of lessons with our professional coaches, then a half day of competitions to assess the different levels, and time to have fun on the slopes.

“The last two years have been a bit more complicated and we haven’t been able to do the kid camps at our resorts, but … as soon as the borders start to open, we’re confident Hong Kong families will go back to the slopes. We want to widen the pool and increase the number of athletes we get in the future.”

The Olympic Alpine ski events are slated for February 6 to 19, with a total of 11 events across the discipline and 33 medals to be handed out.