Tokyo 2020: Hong Kong rowing’s ‘Mr Fixit’ Chris Perry completes eighth Olympics and looks forward to Paris 2024
- The 59-year-old Englishman, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1986 on three-month contract, says he hopes he is seen as a coach who cares for his athletes
- Perry’s highlights include steering his wife Ho Kim-fai to 1993 East Asian Games gold and men’s lightweight Lok Kwan-hoi to 2014 Asian Games glory
Dozens of Hong Kong athletes, coaches and media were stranded at Seoul Airport. The aircraft for the onward flight to Busan for the 1997 East Asian Games never turned up. Pleas to airline counter staff fell on deaf ears. Even they had no idea what to do.
Up stepped Hong Kong rowing coach Chris Perry. “Right, we can’t hang around here, we have to get to Busan tonight, let’s organise some buses.” With Perry taking charge and directing operations, a convoy of buses soon appeared outside the airport for the five-hour journey southeast to the South Korean coastal city.
Perry’s prompt action and practical solution made the best out of what seemed a hopeless situation and minimised the physical and mental stress endured by athletes who needed to be in peak form for the Games.
Perry, who holds a number of high-profile positions in international rowing, hopes to make a ninth Olympics in Paris 2024, but whether it is as the Hong Kong Sports Institute’s head coach remains to be seen.