https://www.scmp.com/rss/329088/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Retired civil engineer Lim Shyang Guey will don his running shoes on March 28 for a 2,200km (1,367-mile) journey around Peninsular Malaysia. The 90-day “Run for Gold” campaign is Lim’s attempt to finish a gruelling circuit by June 22 – his 67th birthday. The inspiration for this challenge comes from profound loss. In November 2023, Lim and his wife, Goh Joo Lee, were celebrating her completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon – her first ever race. But soon after, she began to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3347978/66-year-old-sets-2200km-run-around-peninsular-malaysia-honour-his-wife?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3347978/66-year-old-sets-2200km-run-around-peninsular-malaysia-honour-his-wife?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 23:15:13 +0000 Joyce Yip Joyce Yip Summer Wong Man-ting, 31, was ready to sprint into her final race at the 2025 World Obstacle – UIPM OCR World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, last September. Coming off a race in Barbados less than a month before, however, she was still recovering from both jet lag and injuries, and the relentless rain and 12-degree Celsius temperature had aggravated her cold. The horn blared, and the chorus of Banners’ “Someone to You” ripped through the tense air. Wong had one shot against Melia Ochsner,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3345559/meet-summer-wong-face-hong-kongs-growing-ocr-scene?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3345559/meet-summer-wong-face-hong-kongs-growing-ocr-scene?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 05:00:09 +0000 Lily Canter Lily Canter While planning to run an ultra-marathon along the historic Silk Road, Ria Xi was alarmed when AI warned her about taking NSAIDs – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – while ultra-running. She jumped onto Instagram to tell her 38,000 followers “do not take NSAIDs” when running long distances because of the impact they can have on blood flow to the kidneys. Beijing-born Xi was prompted to make the “public service announcement” after she had previously been told, while seeking treatment for knee... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3341642/why-nsaids-ibuprofen-and-naproxen-might-be-bad-news-long-distance-runners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3341642/why-nsaids-ibuprofen-and-naproxen-might-be-bad-news-long-distance-runners?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 23:15:07 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Jaclyn Hei Tsang was working at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong as a clinical dietitian in 2021 when she left her job to become a professional powerlifter. Just a year after she became a full-time athlete, she set a Hong Kong record in the under-57kg (125lb) weight class when she bench pressed 90kg at the 2022 Hong Kong Powerlifting Championships. In the same competition, she squatted 120kg and dead lifted 151kg, for a total weight count of 361kg – also a Hong Kong record. Today, the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3338847/record-breaking-hong-kong-powerlifter-and-dietitian-now-battles-bad-online-health-advice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3338847/record-breaking-hong-kong-powerlifter-and-dietitian-now-battles-bad-online-health-advice?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 03:00:12 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung Yau Ka-wing was once a self-described “ordinary, gaming-obsessed nerd” who was teased for being skinny and lacked confidence. Today, the 26-year-old is a champion callisthenics athlete who has represented Asia on the international stage and runs his own training studio. Two factors motivated Yau when he was in his final year of secondary school. “I was laughed at. I was bullied for being scrawny, and all I did was game [online] all day. I had no confidence and wanted to try working out to change... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3338129/hong-kong-callisthenics-athlete-how-sport-changed-his-life-and-what-makes-it-special?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3338129/hong-kong-callisthenics-athlete-how-sport-changed-his-life-and-what-makes-it-special?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 03:00:09 +0000 Lily Canter Lily Canter When her relationship ended last year, Ria Xi did what many heartbroken twenty-somethings do: she went for a run. “For my 25th birthday, I decided to run every day for 30 days. It was the only thing I could hold onto. The only thing that reminded me I had control.” Soon after her 30-day streak, running snowballed into an obsession, and she began chasing world records after quitting her Silicon Valley tech job. Within a year, Beijing-born Xi had set a world first in Egypt, completing a 567km... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3331773/after-break-beijing-born-tech-turned-ultrarunner-plans-ai-backed-silk-road-trek?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3331773/after-break-beijing-born-tech-turned-ultrarunner-plans-ai-backed-silk-road-trek?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 09:15:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Kanchha Sherpa, the only surviving member of the mountaineering expedition team that first conquered Mount Everest, died early Thursday, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association. The association’s president, Phur Gelje Sherpa, confirmed that Kanchha died at age 92 at his home in Kathmandu. “He passed away peacefully at his residence,” Phur Gelje Sherpa said, adding that he had been unwell for some time. “A chapter of mountaineering history has vanished with him.” Last rites will be held... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329274/kanchha-sherpa-last-link-everests-first-summit-dies-92-history-vanished-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3329274/kanchha-sherpa-last-link-everests-first-summit-dies-92-history-vanished-him?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:48:49 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer China’s Olympic champion snowboarder Su Yiming has claimed to have become the first person to land two successive 1980-degree spins, sharing a video of the feat on his social media pages. Su, who won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the big air event, on Wednesday uploaded the video and wrote: “Been thinking about this new combo for a long time! Still pretty dizzy!!” On Thursday, Su posted the video on Chinese social media and said he was the first person to accomplish it. “Happy... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3328515/chinas-su-yiming-happy-be-first-world-perform-dual-1980-degree-spins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3328515/chinas-su-yiming-happy-be-first-world-perform-dual-1980-degree-spins?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Eileen Gu has said she suffered an injury following a “very terrible accident” while training in New Zealand. Gu, who only resumed training last month after hurting herself at the Winter X Games in January, was training at the Cardrona Alpine Resort before the incident happened on Friday. The Chinese freestyle skier posted on Weibo detailing the incident and said she had flown to Christchurch early on Saturday for medical imaging, which would reveal the extent of the injury she had... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322125/skier-eileen-gu-injured-very-terrible-accident-while-training?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3322125/skier-eileen-gu-injured-very-terrible-accident-while-training?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 07:09:18 +0000 Kylie Knott Kylie Knott The global wellness industry is booming, much of it fuelled by a pandemic-influenced shift in mindset that sees people focusing more on physical and mental well-being. The numbers speak for themselves: according to a report from the Global Wellness Institute, the sector was worth US$6.3 trillion in 2023. It is no surprise, then, that Hong Kong’s annual Fitness and Wellness Expo (FWE) is also getting bigger. Now in its fifth year, FWE takes place this weekend, July 26-27, at AsiaWorld-Expo.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3319272/what-do-hong-kong-fitness-and-wellness-expo-2025-hyrox-saunas-and-ice-baths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3319272/what-do-hong-kong-fitness-and-wellness-expo-2025-hyrox-saunas-and-ice-baths?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 04:15:08 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Three Hong Kong residents will attempt to row more than 300 kilometres from Ibiza to Barcelona next week, a journey they expect will leave them battling the Mediterranean Sea for five days. Members of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC), Alastair Kelly, Doug Irwin and Andi Buel, will take on the Noman Mediterranean Ocean Rowing Races, a challenge that aims to raise awareness and funds to combat HPV-related cancers. A prerequisite for the event, also known as Row to End HPV, is that teams... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3318748/hong-kong-trio-tackle-300km-row-ibiza-barcelona-cancer-charity-fundraiser?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3318748/hong-kong-trio-tackle-300km-row-ibiza-barcelona-cancer-charity-fundraiser?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:10 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Freestyle skier Eileen Gu is back in training and gearing up for her second Olympic cycle, following a disappointing end to the 2024-25 season that saw her miss February’s Asian Winter Games in Harbin because of injury. The two-time Olympic champion posted a 45-second video on Weibo showcasing her gym routine. The clip ends with Gu performing a cork 720 with a Buick grab on a slope in Austria. In January, Gu was left badly bruised from a fall during the Winter X Games after winning gold in the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3318465/chinese-olympic-champion-skier-eileen-gu-back-training-enjoys-first-ever-spa-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3318465/chinese-olympic-champion-skier-eileen-gu-back-training-enjoys-first-ever-spa-day?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:05:18 +0000 Cathy Hilborn Feng Cathy Hilborn Feng When journalists Lily Canter, a contributor to the South China Morning Post, and Emma Wilkinson started running together in ultra races – ones that take six hours or more to finish – in 2020, they noticed that there were few women. Those women that did take part, though, did remarkably well. When the pair started to look into it, they realised this was true for other endurance sports, too. In their new book Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport, they delve into the science of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3316460/how-women-can-conquer-endurance-sports-female-specific-training?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3316460/how-women-can-conquer-endurance-sports-female-specific-training?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer The Freediving World Championship opens in Japan on Wednesday with Hong Kong upping its representation this year to six divers, amid a boom in the sport. Tens of thousands of people each year across East and Southeast Asia alone have been taking up this mode of underwater diving – holding one’s breath rather than using scuba gear – encouraged by the region’s suitable seas and exposure such as Netflix’s The Deepest Breath documentary. Some competitions measure depth, but the action in Wakayama... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3315637/amid-freediving-boom-hongkongers-hold-breath-world-title-quest-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3315637/amid-freediving-boom-hongkongers-hold-breath-world-title-quest-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:22:59 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Three days before the Hong Kong 100 Ultra Marathon in January, Sunmaya Budha was racing against time to reach the city due to visa delays. She was nearly 3,000km away, in Nepal’s mountainous Jumla district. She first had to catch a flight from its tiny, weather-dependent airstrip to another city, then to the capital, Kathmandu, and finally onwards to Hong Kong. Within 48 hours of landing, however, Budha did not just run the 103km race along the Sai Kung Peninsula and across Hong Kong’s forests,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3314284/ultra-marathon-sensation-sunmaya-budha-blazes-trail-women-follow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3314284/ultra-marathon-sensation-sunmaya-budha-blazes-trail-women-follow?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jun 2025 20:15:07 +0000 Erika Na Erika Na It is a drizzly and overcast Saturday morning in Hong Kong where, despite the gusting winds, many runners are training along the Central Harbourfront. At the AIA Vitality Hub – a venue on the harbourfront that offers free daily health and fitness classes – a dozen runners have gathered for an hour-long class led by ultrarunner Wong Chun-kiu. At 40, Wong is fit, experienced and ready to share the skills he has learned. He opens the session with stretching and running drills. “When you run, try to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3310419/hong-kong-ultrarunner-who-holds-free-classes-central-his-epic-endurance-feats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3310419/hong-kong-ultrarunner-who-holds-free-classes-central-his-epic-endurance-feats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 23:45:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A woman injured during a fatal cryotherapy session at a gym in France’s capital earlier this week is now brain-dead, the prosecutor’s office said on Friday. The client, in her early thirties, was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after the accident late on Monday claimed the life of an employee in her late twenties. The client has been brain-dead since Thursday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. An autopsy on the first victim showed she suffocated due to a lack of oxygen, it added,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3307126/woman-brain-dead-after-paris-cryotherapy-session-goes-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3307126/woman-brain-dead-after-paris-cryotherapy-session-goes-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Apr 2025 14:08:31 +0000 Martin Williams Martin Williams On a sunny afternoon this January, south Lantau’s Cheung Sha Beach was quiet, with few people other than a couple sunbathing by the trees, another strolling along the sand. Slowly, a yacht approached from the southeastern horizon and rode the breeze to within a couple of hundred metres from shore. Out dropped an inflatable kayak, then onto that a man and a woman in shorts and T-shirts who began paddling towards the beach. Nearing the shore, the kayak was propelled forward on a wave and tossed... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3300389/sailors-and-runners-show-their-mettle-hong-kongs-four-peaks-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3300389/sailors-and-runners-show-their-mettle-hong-kongs-four-peaks-race?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:00:09 +0000 Competitive ice swimmer Mak Chun-kong may not be as fast as he was when he first started seven years ago, but he has vowed to keep showing up at international competitions to show the world “that Hong Kong is here”. Mak, who is Hong Kong’s only competitive ice swimmer, competed in six events in Molveno at the IISA 6th World Championships, which attracted more than 700 swimmers. The 38-year-old travelled from his home in the Czech Republic to northern Italy, leaving behind his eight-month-old... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3296752/ice-swimmer-intends-keep-attending-international-meets-show-hong-kong-here?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3296752/ice-swimmer-intends-keep-attending-international-meets-show-hong-kong-here?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2025 05:30:08 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi As a child in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, Faruk Arian remembers watching members of his Rohingya community being stripped of any power they once had, trapped in a vortex of poverty, ethnic hatred and violence. He was shot as a teenager by soldiers from the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military. Years later, when the Rohingya faced another wave of brutal persecution, he fled by boat to Malaysia, eventually finding safety in Kuala Lumpur. “People could take anything from us because we weren’t strong,” he told... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296203/malaysia-rohingya-bodybuilder-chases-mr-olympia-glory-anything-possible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296203/malaysia-rohingya-bodybuilder-chases-mr-olympia-glory-anything-possible?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jan 2025 07:00:15 +0000 It is not exactly a holiday blockbuster but Four Trails, a documentary about a Hong Kong ultra-running challenge held over the three-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2021, has been quietly selling out a number of its limited showings since its December 6 release. The 101-minute documentary was condensed from more than 200 hours of footage filmed before, during and after the 2021 Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC), the 10th-anniversary edition of the event that invited back only those... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3291174/how-filming-four-trails-about-298km-hong-kong-ultra-run-was-almost-hard-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3291174/how-filming-four-trails-about-298km-hong-kong-ultra-run-was-almost-hard-race?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Dec 2024 03:15:07 +0000 Teacher Kim Wells, 36, was filled with excitement as she counted down the days to her first fitness competition, the Hyrox race in Hong Kong on Saturday. Over the past two months, she dedicated time to train for the event and invested HK$8,000 (US$1,030) for everything from sportswear to specialised training programmes. Billed as “a sport for every body”, Hyrox is an indoor race that is broken into eight exercises, each starting with a 1km (0.6-mile) run. The eight exercise stations include... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3287805/cashing-fitness-how-hyrox-race-hong-kong-opening-doors-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3287805/cashing-fitness-how-hyrox-race-hong-kong-opening-doors-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2024 00:30:13 +0000 Working out in a gym seems to be par for the course for most of the world’s biggest stars, but what about those who take their fitness to another level? Anyone who’s done one will tell you that running a marathon is no mean feat. So which stars decided to forgo looking cool, calm and collected to get sweaty with the general public? And more importantly, how did they do? 1. Ryan Reynolds Ryan Reynolds ran the 2008 New York Marathon to raise money for Parkinson’s, which his father suffered from,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3281513/8-celebrities-who-run-marathons-gordon-ramsay-and-ryan-reynolds-oprah-winfrey-and-ted-lassos-phil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3281513/8-celebrities-who-run-marathons-gordon-ramsay-and-ryan-reynolds-oprah-winfrey-and-ted-lassos-phil?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:00:10 +0000 A Sherpa teenager who became the youngest person to scale all the world’s 14 highest peaks returned home to Nepal on Monday to a hero’s welcome. Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, reached the 8,027-metre (26,335 feet) summit of Mount Shishapangma in Tibet last week, completing his mission to climb the world’s peaks that are more than 8,000 metres high. He broke a previous record by another Sherpa, who was 30 years old at the time. Nepal’s Tourism Minister Badri Prasad Pandey, along with members of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3282311/nepal-record-setting-teen-climber-nima-rinji-returns-home-heros-welcome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3282311/nepal-record-setting-teen-climber-nima-rinji-returns-home-heros-welcome?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Oct 2024 10:02:10 +0000 An 18-year-old Nepali mountaineer on Wednesday broke the record for the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks, his team said. Nima Rinji Sherpa reached the summit of Tibet’s 8,027-metre-high (26,335 feet) Shisha Pangma on Wednesday morning, completing his mission to stand on the world’s highest peaks. “He reached the summit this morning. He had trained well and I was confident he would do it,” said his father Tashi Sherpa. Summiting all 14 “eight-thousanders” is... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3281657/just-18-hes-already-climbed-all-highest-peaks-earth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3281657/just-18-hes-already-climbed-all-highest-peaks-earth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2024 05:51:45 +0000 Organisers of the Bank of China Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon said they had addressed some of the issues it was plagued by last year, as the second edition was announced on Friday. The race, held on the Hong Kong side of the bridge, is set to return on January 5, and has been designated a Gold Label Road Race by global governing body World Athletics. When the inaugural 8,000-runner race on the bridge took place last November, participants were left frustrated by a lack of food... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3269389/hong-kong-bridge-half-marathon-feature-food-more-water-less-waiting-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3269389/hong-kong-bridge-half-marathon-feature-food-more-water-less-waiting-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jul 2024 13:49:51 +0000 Long before the term “gravel riding” was coined, and before dedicated gravel bikes even existed, riding the gravel roads of the Midwest United States on road and mountain bikes was commonplace. However, in the summer of 2006, some 34 pioneering cyclists lined up in Emporia, Kansas for the very first edition of Dirty Kanza, one of the first-ever gravel races, and the region has since been considered the birthplace of gravel riding. Dirty Kanza, now rebranded as Unbound Gravel, is the biggest... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3267805/formula-ones-valtteri-bottas-among-those-embracing-fast-growing-sport-gravel-riding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3267805/formula-ones-valtteri-bottas-among-those-embracing-fast-growing-sport-gravel-riding?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 07:08:24 +0000 Japan is exporting one of its best-loved sporting events, the ekiden long-distance relay race, to Britain. The inaugural UK edition, set to be held later this month, will celebrate strong ties between the two countries. Starting in Oxford and following a 116km route along the Thames Path, the route of the race on June 24 will pass through Abingdon, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Maidenhead before ending in Windsor. Its commemorates the 100th anniversary of Japan’s most famous ekiden – a two-day... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3266599/britain-laces-japan-style-116km-relay-emperor-naruhito-visits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3266599/britain-laces-japan-style-116km-relay-emperor-naruhito-visits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2024 08:00:11 +0000 A 54-year-old Nepali climber known as “Everest man” reached the peak of the world’s highest mountain for a record 30th time on Wednesday, three decades after his first summit. Kami Rita Sherpa, who broke his own record after climbing the 8,849m (29,032ft) peak for the 29th time earlier this month, has previously said he was “just working” and did not plan on setting records. “Kami Rita reached the summit this morning. Now he has made a new record with 30 summits of Everest,” Mingma Sherpa of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3263700/nepals-everest-man-reaches-peak-record-30th-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3263700/nepals-everest-man-reaches-peak-record-30th-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2024 15:24:51 +0000 Days before reaching the summit of Mount Everest last May, Nepali mountaineer Tenzi Sherpa captured a video – not showing the striking views of the snow-capped Himalayas, but the vast heaps of garbage left behind by climbers. The footage from Camp 4, located around 8,000 metres above sea level and known as the “death zone” due to its unforgiving conditions, showed discarded tents, oxygen cylinders and utensils frozen in time. “[It’s the] dirtiest camp I have ever seen,” Sherpa wrote on Instagram... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3263153/everest-dirty-trash-strewn-mess-it-too-late-nepal-fix-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3263153/everest-dirty-trash-strewn-mess-it-too-late-nepal-fix-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 May 2024 10:00:24 +0000 Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa reached the top of Mount Everest for the 29th time on Sunday, breaking his own record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain. “Kami Rita reached the summit this morning. Now he has made a new record with 29 summits of Everest,” said Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, his expedition organiser. A guide for more than two decades, Sherpa, also known as “Everest Man”, first summited the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak in 1994 when working for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3262368/nepals-everest-man-notches-29th-summit-worlds-highest-mountain-breaking-own-record?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3262368/nepals-everest-man-notches-29th-summit-worlds-highest-mountain-breaking-own-record?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 May 2024 07:50:57 +0000 Ultra swimmer Mayank Vaid became the first person to attempt to swim around Hong Kong Island twice in one go last week, and is now gearing up to become the first to take a stab at the Double Arch 2 Arc Triathlon. The HK360 Swim is one clockwise solo lap of Hong Kong Island, starting and ending at Sai Wan Swimming Shed. For the HK720, Vaid was required to circumnavigate the island twice, heading anticlockwise for the second lap. However, Vaid’s history-making attempt was cut short about three... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3260957/ultra-athlete-mayank-vaid-who-tried-swim-around-hong-kong-twice-day-eyes-double-arch-2-arc-triathlon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3260957/ultra-athlete-mayank-vaid-who-tried-swim-around-hong-kong-twice-day-eyes-double-arch-2-arc-triathlon?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2024 02:00:20 +0000 When Hong Kong entrepreneur Vriko Kwok signed up to tackle an ultra marathon for six days in a row, she could not run even a single kilometre. But that did not stop the Brazilian jiu jitsu athlete from taking on the biggest sporting test of her life and challenging those who thought she was “too fat” to run. “I hated running because I never saw myself doing it. I got bullied quite badly growing up and that put me off running for a long time,” Kwok said. So, when sportswear brand Lululemon... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3259210/zero-303313km-under-year-how-hong-kong-entrepreneur-vriko-kwok-went-further-then-she-had-ever-been?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3259210/zero-303313km-under-year-how-hong-kong-entrepreneur-vriko-kwok-went-further-then-she-had-ever-been?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2024 04:00:20 +0000 Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha battled to a nine-second victory over China’s Xiang Fuzhao in the 70km Wenling Golden Coast Trail Race, cementing her rise from poverty and an arranged marriage to ultra-running stardom. The pair collapsed at the finish line, having exchanged the lead back and forth for more than seven hours. Sunmaya, 25, said she could hardly breathe during last few hundred metres. “I didn’t have much idea about this race but was told it’s one of biggest and most important races in China... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3258316/sunmaya-budha-wins-wenling-70km-chinese-ultra-race-4500-runners-and-big-prize-money-just-9-seconds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3258316/sunmaya-budha-wins-wenling-70km-chinese-ultra-race-4500-runners-and-big-prize-money-just-9-seconds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2024 06:00:16 +0000 When Betty Grisoni was at rock bottom and overcome with suicidal thoughts, running saved her life. It gave her a sense of accomplishment and a reason to struggle out of bed each day. Describing herself as “a classic Hong Kong story”, the French life coach arrived in the city more than 20 years ago and threw herself into a life of working and playing hard. “I was not paying attention to my physical and mental health and I just crashed and burned. I found myself with depression and ignored it for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3257044/how-exercise-helps-treat-depression-better-counselling-or-leading-medications-and-runner-who-says-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3257044/how-exercise-helps-treat-depression-better-counselling-or-leading-medications-and-runner-who-says-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Mar 2024 08:15:20 +0000 Preet Chandi may have felt safe to assume she would not see polar bears in Hong Kong this weekend, but she “did not know they lived in Antarctica” before planning her three record-breaking expeditions there. The physiotherapist and British Army medical officer in December became the fastest woman to ski solo across the ice-covered continent, taking 31 days to cover 1,130km (702 miles). Almost 12 months earlier, she did not make it all the way across but managed the longest solo unsupported polar... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3254799/how-get-south-pole-preet-chandi-became-fastest-woman-ski-across-antarctica-solo-little-googling-lot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3254799/how-get-south-pole-preet-chandi-became-fastest-woman-ski-across-antarctica-solo-little-googling-lot?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:13 +0000 Alice McLeod, the quickest woman in the 2024 Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC), which was held in February, wrote her training plan for the 298-kilometre (185-mile) race on the back of an airline menu on the way home from her honeymoon in July. The 31-year-old completed the demanding race in a time of 63 hours, 58 minutes and 47 seconds. The rules mean she is classified as a “survivor” rather than a “finisher”; finishers must complete the race in under 60 hours, and survivors in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3254064/quickest-woman-gruelling-298km-ultra-trail-race-hong-kong-her-planning-training-and-advice-other?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3254064/quickest-woman-gruelling-298km-ultra-trail-race-hong-kong-her-planning-training-and-advice-other?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2024 20:15:15 +0000 Ruby Cheng Wang is targeting more highs in the 2024 triathlon season, after “achieving my dream” with a powerhouse performance at the Ironman World Championship. Cheng eased back on training during the off-season, heeding the lessons of past mistakes when she would “push, push, push, which resulted in injuries”. But she is now beginning to dial up her workload, in advance of the Singapore-hosted PTO Asian Open Triathlon in April. “Naturally, you are afraid of losing fitness, if you reduce your... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3251898/triathlete-cheng-targets-pto-asian-open-success-after-empowering-ironman-world-championship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3251898/triathlete-cheng-targets-pto-asian-open-success-after-empowering-ironman-world-championship?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2024 10:30:18 +0000 Preparing for the challenge of covering 298km non-stop across Hong Kong, Tsang Wai-fung discovered the biggest obstacle he had to overcome was a lack of headphones. There are several rules designed to make the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge particularly taxing, including bans on pain killers, running poles, and music or podcasts to help pass the time. Covering the MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau Trails, the race is typically tackled by about 20 runners, usually spread out over... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3250561/hong-kong-four-trails-runner-talks-monkeys-until-he-finds-inner-peace-during-298km-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3250561/hong-kong-four-trails-runner-talks-monkeys-until-he-finds-inner-peace-during-298km-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:30:10 +0000 Leading Hong Kong triathletes Jason Ng Tai-long and Bailee Brown missed opportunities to gain ground over their Olympic qualification rivals, after a “brutal” schedule took its toll at the season-ending Asia Triathlon Cup races in mainland China. There was a third place over the standard-distance course in Xiamen on Saturday for Robin Elg, their in-form teammate and reigning Asian Under-23 champion. Ng and Brown, both members of Hong Kong’s Asian Games bronze-medal mixed relay team, had achieved... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3242813/asia-triathlon-cup-hong-kongs-robin-elg-podium-missed-olympics-chance-jason-ng-bailee-brown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3242813/asia-triathlon-cup-hong-kongs-robin-elg-podium-missed-olympics-chance-jason-ng-bailee-brown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Nov 2023 07:25:43 +0000 Organisers of the Bank of China Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon have apologised for a blunder at the finish line on Sunday, and attributed other problems emerging over its staging to the location and police requirements. The Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA) acknowledged that “officials mistakenly retrieved the finish tape” intended for women’s winner Sarah Chelangat from Uganda and “accidentally allowed” men’s runners to break it first. “The male runner,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3242383/hong-kong-bridge-half-marathon-chiefs-apologise-finish-tape-blunder-and-blame-location-food-toilet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3242383/hong-kong-bridge-half-marathon-chiefs-apologise-finish-tape-blunder-and-blame-location-food-toilet?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Nov 2023 23:30:09 +0000 Celebrities and elite athletes alike were among thousands of runners who turned out for Sunday’s inaugural Bank of China Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon, with organisers touting the event’s “perfect execution”. Kenya’s Geoffrey Toroitich won the 21km men’s race in one hour, one minute and 38 seconds, and Sarah Chelangat of Uganda took the women’s crown in 1:08.04, with both earning US$10,000 (HK$78,000) in prize money. But it was local acting star Chow Yun-fat who drew the biggest... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3242073/chow-yun-fat-steals-show-8000-run-perfect-inaugural-hong-kong-zhuhai-macau-bridge-half-marathon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3242073/chow-yun-fat-steals-show-8000-run-perfect-inaugural-hong-kong-zhuhai-macau-bridge-half-marathon?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Nov 2023 08:50:33 +0000 Local athletics officials hope the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon will evolve into an annual event with various distances, and even see participants running beyond the Hong Kong section of the bridge in the future. The inaugural event will see 8,000 runners traversing the 55-kilometre (34 miles) bridge, which opened in 2018, on Sunday. Of the 2,500 places reserved for a “Challenge Group” – the elite contingent – there will be 18 runners from eight overseas countries. “It’s our... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3241975/hong-kong-zhuhai-macau-bridge-half-marathon-organisers-target-annual-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3241975/hong-kong-zhuhai-macau-bridge-half-marathon-organisers-target-annual-event?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:55:57 +0000 Head coach Andrew Wright put star triathlete Oscar Coggins’ recent poor form down to two years of struggles during the pandemic – and has shouldered responsibility for the 24-year-old’s plight at this year’s Asian Games. Coggins withdrew following the swimming leg of the individual event in Hangzhou, with Wright subsequently declaring he was “not in a good place right now, physically or mentally”. Hong Kong’s best Olympic triathlon performer, after finishing 33rd in Tokyo, in 2021, Coggins has... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3240868/hong-kong-triathlon-boss-blames-oscar-coggins-struggles-pandemic-partly-down-me?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3240868/hong-kong-triathlon-boss-blames-oscar-coggins-struggles-pandemic-partly-down-me?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Nov 2023 03:43:34 +0000 Head coach Andrew Wright said staging the Asia Triathlon Cup against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s iconic skyline would help attract a new generation of athletes and keep the city’s current stars on their toes. The race, which takes place in 11 days’ time, begins with a swimming leg in Victoria Harbour, before the athletes cycle and run along the iconic harbourfront, finishing in the shadow of the Hong Kong Observation Wheel. All four members of the Hong Kong team that claimed mixed-relay bronze... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3240686/hong-kong-triathlon-head-coach-eyeing-long-term-gains-home-race-city-works-competing-elite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/article/3240686/hong-kong-triathlon-head-coach-eyeing-long-term-gains-home-race-city-works-competing-elite?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Nov 2023 23:30:20 +0000 Hundreds of spectators watched on during the two-day Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier finals, as the city’s top B-Boys needed a tiebreaker to separate them and a women’s finalist forfeited a shot at victory because of a knee injury. Olympian City Mall transformed to accommodate the finals on Saturday and Sunday. Among the 16 contestants who reached the final day of competition – eight men and eight women – four were competing fresh from dancing in the Asian Games. Wong Chiu-wai (B-Girl Lady... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3240538/breakdancers-compete-hong-kong-crown-b-boys-final-goes-wire-and-injury-thwarts-b-girl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3240538/breakdancers-compete-hong-kong-crown-b-boys-final-goes-wire-and-injury-thwarts-b-girl?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:20 +0000 It is hard to believe that just two weeks ago I was standing in a remote region of the Arctic, staring at the sky waiting for a plane to pick me up after 103 days of suffering, camaraderie, unique and wonderful moments. The culmination of years of work, three teammates and I had just set two world records kayaking the entire Northwest Passage. We had thrown rocks at a polar bear as it pressed itself against our tent. We’d narrowly escaped a painful death when two huge bits of floating ice... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3239097/first-team-kayak-arctics-northwest-passage-finds-more-just-world-records-and-numb-feet-epic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3239097/first-team-kayak-arctics-northwest-passage-finds-more-just-world-records-and-numb-feet-epic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Oct 2023 05:03:36 +0000 Hong Kong rower Anna Fisher has won five gold medals at a world masters regatta in South Africa after beating injury and funding challenges. Fisher, 32, the only Hong Kong contestant in the World Rowing Masters Regatta this year, told the Post: “I feel happy that my training paid off and that I had something to show for it. I had been training for a year prior to this regatta.” More than 800 rowers from around the world including former Olympians competed in 308 races at the Roodeplaat Dam,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3236594/hong-kongs-anna-fisher-rows-her-way-5-gold-medals-world-masters-regatta-south-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3236594/hong-kongs-anna-fisher-rows-her-way-5-gold-medals-world-masters-regatta-south-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2023 03:00:26 +0000 If you watched the Netflix documentary Arnold, you know that there is more to Arnold Schwarzenegger than just muscles and action flicks. The 76-year-old American, born in the little village of Thal outside Graz in Austria, has managed to achieve greatness in three very different fields: bodybuilding, cinema and politics. On the heels of that three-part documentary, publisher Taschen has released a two-volume collector’s edition photo book with the same title. It spans his entire career, from his... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3235192/6-best-photos-new-schwarzenegger-coffee-table-book-arnold-tracing-stars-life-austrian-bodybuilding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3235192/6-best-photos-new-schwarzenegger-coffee-table-book-arnold-tracing-stars-life-austrian-bodybuilding?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:00:15 +0000 Bodybuilder, coach, wife, mother, Olympian. These are just some of the words to describe South Korean celebrity and professional athlete Song Ah-reum. A professional bodybuilder for five years, Song is a model of peak fitness in South Korea. Consistently placing in both domestic and international bodybuilding competitions, she has made a name for herself not only in the athletic realm but in popular culture, staring in the Netflix show Physical 100. She grew her presence in Hong Kong this past... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3231525/star-netflixs-physical-100-song-ah-reum-shows-hongkongers-mothers-can-succeed-bodybuilding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3231525/star-netflixs-physical-100-song-ah-reum-shows-hongkongers-mothers-can-succeed-bodybuilding?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Aug 2023 00:30:12 +0000