Tokyo 2020: gymnast Shek Wai-hung stays focused on Olympic ambitions despite IOC postponement

The two-time Asian Games gold medallist says he is a more mature athlete after failing to qualify for Rio in 2016

Shek finished seventh at the 2019 world championships in the vault, having earlier won two World Cup events in Europe

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Hong Kong's Shek Wai-hung in action during the 2019 world championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:13am, 26 Mar 2020Updated: 4:15pm, 21 Jun 2021

Hong Kong gymnast Stone Shek Wai-hung is undeterred by any delay in the Tokyo Olympics, having already endured the heartbreak of failing to qualify for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The 28-year-old Asian Games champion in the men’s vault said he backed the decision by the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo Games by one year because of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the world.

“I support the decision because the situation is quite serious and dangerous for athletes, staff and team members, as well as the public. Safety is the priority,” said Shek. “The postponement certainly disrupts my plans but, at the same time, it gives me longer to prepare and will allow me to spend more time on ironing out little details in my technique.

“I’m not too focused on the IOC decision because I have to be in training and preparing whether they postpone it or not. On my part, this is all I can do.”

Shek made his Olympic debut for Hong Kong at the 2012 Games in London where a fall on his first vault prevented him from advancing to the final. The London disappointment almost forced Shek into retirement but he came back strongly with a stunning gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, where he defeated the hosts’ Olympic, world champion and defending champion Yang Hak-seon.