Ching Siu-nga hopes to walk her way to Rio Games qualification
Race walker Ching Siu-nga is determined to lower her time by three minutes and become the second athlete from Hong Kong to qualify for next year’s Rio Olympic Games.
In April, the 28-year-old, a masters student at Lindenwood University in Missouri, set a Hong Kong record of one hour, 37 minutes and 59 seconds in finishing seventh in a women’s 20-kilometre race walk in Germany.
Race walk is a little known event and if I can qualify for the Olympic Games, it will raise the interest of the event in Hong Kong
“The qualifying mark for the 2012 London Olympics was set at one hour and 38 minutes,” said Ching, who is in town before heading for the World University Games in South Korea.
“Now the qualifying mark for Rio is one hour and 35 minutes and therefore I still need to improve until I can make up that three-minute gap.” There is more than a year before the Rio Games to go and I have planned to have eight races from now to make the mark.”
After taking up race walking eight years ago, Ching has already dominated the event in the city, holding the 3km, 5km and 20km national records. She was named the best 2014 senior female athlete by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletics Association. (HKAAA).
“Race walk is a little known event and if I can qualify for the Olympic Games, it will raise the interest of the event in Hong Kong,” she said. “That’s also why I am so keen to accomplish the Olympic mission.”
