Tokyo 2020 Olympics: How Hong Kong swimmer Jamie Yeung went from nearly retiring to reaching the sport’s pinnacle
- The 23-year-old will join the women’s medley relay team in Tokyo and still has a chance at individual qualification
- ‘I hope that us performing at the Olympic Games can help raise the spirit of the Hong Kong people,’ says national record-holder Yeung
“Yeah, I did think about it seriously. It wasn’t an easy choice to keep swimming because I was also very excited to start another stage of my life,” the 23-year-old University of Michigan graduate said.
“I had a breakout year at the 2018 Asian Games which was awesome and I made the NCAA in my final college year – it was a great end to college. I could have been done then but I didn’t want to regret not trying for the Olympics. So I was like ‘OK, one more year’, then Covid-19 hit, so ‘OK, one more year’. And here I am.”
Yeung, Stephanie Au Hoi-shun, Siobhan Haughey and Karen Tam Hoi-lam had broken a decade-long national record and earned one of 16 spots in Tokyo – but the celebrations were more-so directed at Yeung, who was the only member of the quartet not to have previously sealed qualification. Photos of her raw emotional roller-coaster quickly did the rounds.
“Yeah, that photo is crazy. It’s not the best, but it captures the moment,” Yeung said, laughing. “That was the moment we found out we were top 16 in the world.
“My first reaction was to jump up and down. It took a few hours for it to really sink in and realise ‘wow, I’m going to the Olympics’. I was still on a high after a few days, then I got to think back on how I achieved this. I’m just really grateful for everything.”
“All my teammates were really happy for me. They were by my side when training at the [Hong Kong Sports Institute] ever since moving back to Hong Kong.
“The three girls that swam the relay with me are just superstars. Karen is also my roommate – we’ve actually travelled and competed together for almost eight years now – and Stephanie was our leader at the Youth Olympic Games back in 2014.”
Yeung still has an opportunity to qualify in an individual event in the 100m breaststroke Division 1 competition from June 25-27. She said having spectators partially back in the stands “definitely motivates me more than stresses me out” because it reminds her of her more than decade-long support system.
“So far we’ve just been very excited, but we still have two more meets coming up. They told me to enjoy the process, give it my best shot and enjoy the Games whatever happens,” said Yeung, who holds the national 50m breaststroke record after a dazzling performance at the 2019 Fina World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
“We went to college together so we’re great teammates and friends. After we graduated [in 2020] we were the only professional swimmers in Michigan training together. When Covid-19 hit, we stuck together, did home workouts and swam in the river until we could go back to Hong Kong. She’s even been by my side this whole year. I’ve learned a lot and I’m super humble to be her teammate.”
Yeung’s journey from St Stephen’s College Preparatory School PE swim classes, to Hong Kong International School interschool competitions, to representing Hong Kong in meets, to overcoming freshman year culture and training struggles, to winning at the Asian Games and NCAA is likewise an inspiration.
As the Olympic counts down to just over a month away, the goal is twofold: to embrace the moment and to give Hong Kong something to cheer about collectively.
“It’s definitely the pinnacle of my career. First off, I’m going to try to qualify myself, but for the team I want us to do our best at the Games,” she said.
“I hope sport is something that can unite Hong Kong. I know it has gone through a lot and we could not control everything, but I hope that us performing at the Olympic Games can help raise the spirit of the Hong Kong people and have them support one another.”
