bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Chan Kin-wa

As she dims the lights on a 16-year career, Hong Kong windsurfing royalty Hayley Chan Hei-man is setting her sail in a new direction.
The two-time Olympian returned to school after the Tokyo Olympics, where she finished a creditable eighth place in the women’s RS:X.
“I am now a part-time athlete because I want to focus on my studies, which is my top priority at the moment,” Chan said.
“I started my degree at the University of Hong Kong more than a decade ago, but only completed the first two semesters. It’s time to get back to my studies and finish what I started.”

Like most professional athletic pursuits, Chan committed herself to training and competing at the highest levels – leaving little time for herself or her family.
“In windsurfing, you need to commit full-time if you want to do well at the top level. Otherwise you can never succeed,” she said.
Her showing at next year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou is now looking unlikely.
Hong Kong windsurfer Hayley Chan into Olympic medal race
Despite being a part-time boardsailor, Chan will feature in next week’s Haitong International 2021 Victoria Harbour Windsurfing Race, the first time in decades windsurfers can compete on the busy waterway.
Twenty of the city’s leading windsurfers will compete in Tuesday evenings event, which serves as a prelude for the showpiece Hong Kong Open in Stanley, set for next Thursday to Sunday.

“It’s not easy getting a license to race on the harbour and I hope more people come out to watch us,” Chan said. “Most of our races are held far into the sea and this will be the first time we can race in the harbour.”
A highlight of the event will be new reflective neon lights on each windsurfer’s sail, something Chan hopes will give fans another reason to catch the action.
After getting married in October, Chan’s priorities shifted to family and a life outside her professional athletic duties.
“If I continue my career at the top level, I will have to spend a lot of time overseas training and competing, but I think this is not fair to my husband,” she said.

“After all, we both considered having children very soon and it will definitely affect training once I get pregnant. I have gone through three Olympic campaigns with appearances in both the London and Tokyo Olympics. I will have to stop and give the opportunity to the next generation.
Windsurfer Hayley Chan reignites career for Olympic challenge
But retirement plans do not mean she will walk away from the sport for good. Far from it.
“I still want to get involved in the sport that I have spent more than 16 years in. My plan is to become a coach to help windsurfing but the immediate target is to finish my university degree.”
Chan named up-and-coming windsurfers Ma Kwan-ching and Mak Cheuk-wing as the next generation of athletes for Hong Kong. Both have potential to perform well when a new class, iQFOIL, replaces RS:X in the 2024 Paris Games.
“The techniques for iQFOIL are totally different from RS:X as you will be racing on the board with a foil. It has more emphasis on speed with less physical requirement than RS:X. Ma and Mak are both young and have plenty of room for development in the new class,” she said.


Olympic windsurfer Hayley Chan returns to school but continues as part-time athlete

Olympic windsurfer Hayley Chan at Stanley in preparation for next week’s Victoria Harbour Race. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hayley Chan at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as she races in Enoshima Yacht Harbour. Photo: Reuters

Hayley Chan has taken part in two Olympic Games in London and Tokyo respectively. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Olympian Hayley Chan now trains as a part-time athlete as she wants to finish her university degree. Photo:Jonathan Wong

New equipment provides a stay of execution for windsurfing and makes for more excitement at Olympic Games

Hong Kong windsurfer Cheng Kwok-fai in action. Windsurfing has survived an Olympic event review. Photo: Nora Tam

Asian Games: Hong Kong Windsurfing athletes (L-R) Hayley Chan Hei-man and Cheng Kwok-fai gesture "number one" to the media after winning the Women's and Men's races held at Wangsan Sailing Marina. 27SEP14

LEE LAI-SHAN SHOWING HER GOLD MEDAL TO AUDIENCE AT THE PRESENTATION CEREMONY after she won the women's windsurfing competition in the Atlanta Olympics at Savannah. 29 July 1996

My heart and mind are set for the Tokyo Olympics, says Hayley Chan

Participants compete in the Hong Kong Windsurfing Open at Tung Wan Beach in Cheung Chau. Photo: Jonathan Wong

HKG12 Ma Kwan-lam (BacK Left Second), compete in Hong Kong Windsurfing Open at Tung Wan Beach in Cheung Chau. 28OCT18 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Windsurfing head coach Chan King-yin expects a tough competition among internal selection for 2020 Tokyo Games

Hayley Chan Hei-man still feels the fire in her heart

Hong Kong windsurfers to finally have their own permanent facility at Shek O in major boost to sport

An aerial shot of Cape D'Aguilar Quarries in Shek O. Photo: Winson Wong

Lee Lai-shan showing her gold medal to the audience at the presentation ceremony after winning women's windsurfing compeition in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, on 29 July 1996. 29JUL96 SCMP / David Wong

Hong Kong Windsurfing head coach Chan King-yin expects a tough competition among internal selection for 2020 Tokyo Games. Picture taken at the 2018 Hong Kong Open Windsurfing Championship in Cheung Chau. 28OCT18 SCMP/Chan Kin-wa

Windsurfer Hayley Chan Hei-man in Stanley. She will be representing Hong Kong in the Tokyo Games. 11MAR20 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

Windsurfing guru Rene Appel ready to sail the world

Rene Appel will embark on a round-the-world yacht journey in May. But he'll still be a keen follower of his former charges, the elite windsurfers of Hong Kong. Photo: Nora Tam

Rene Appel helped put Hong Kong on the world map as a windsurfing nation. Photo: Nora Tam

The Dutch coach with Lee Lai-shan's gold medal after their exploits in Atlanta in 1996. Photo: Antony Dickson

Lee Lai-shan (centre) with now husband Sam Wong Tak-sum and Rene Appel after winning gold in Atlanta. Photo: Robert Ng

Hong Kong’s teenage windsurfing world champion Mak Cheuk-wing returns to hero’s welcome – and getting some fried rice is top priority

Mak Cheuk-wing and her coaches at Hong Kong airport. Photo: hk01.com

Battle for the top 3 in the U15 Junior Girls, our team's 13-year-old Mak Cheuk-Wing managed to stay ahead and overtake Israel's Linoy Geva in the last race of the day to claim Hong Kong's first U15 Junior Girls Techno World Champion title, it is also our first world title in Techno class.

Sport

Hong Kong


The 30-year-old finished 8th at the Tokyo Games, but family and university will take precedent over any plans for Paris 2024
Chan will feature in next week’s Haitong International 2021 Victoria Harbour Race, the first time in decades windsurfers can compete on Victoria Harbour



After a stellar 16-year career, Hong Kong windsurfer Hayley Chan is turning her attention to school and family.
