Beijing 2022: skier Audrey King qualifies for Winter Olympics as Arabella Ng withdraws citing academic pressure and travel restrictions
- The 19-year-old King, who skied for Hong Kong at the 2022 Youth Winter Games in Switzerland, has achieved the minimum standard required to qualify for Beijing
- Hong Kong will be represented by three athletes at the Beijing Games, their largest squad ever, comprising two skiers and one short-track speed skater
Rising skier Audrey King has qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics after two strong results in Montenegro early this week, which means Hong Kong are able to send their largest delegation to the Games in Beijing in February.
The 19-year-old finished third in the women’s slalom in Kolasin on Monday before securing seventh place the following day, scoring 147.03 and 135.23 FIS points respectively.
To qualify for the Winter Games Alpine skiing event, a skier needs an average score of below 160 FIS points over their best five results. The Ski Association of Hong Kong has confirmed that King has achieved the minimum standard.
“We are thrilled to learn Audrey has qualified and can represent Hong Kong at the Winter Olympics,” said association chairman Edmond Yue Kwok-yin. “This will be the first time we send both men’s and women’s skiers to the Games, which will be a boost to our sport. It’s not easy to meet the requirements, especially for Hong Kong, where we can hardly find any place to ski. That’s why we have to send our skiers to Europe for training and competitions.
“Both Audrey and Adrian worked so hard over the last couple of months and did so well against some of the best skiers from all over the world. We wish them good luck in the Beijing Games.”
Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen, 17, was the first Hong Kong skier to have met the standard in the men’s event while 2018 Olympian Arabella Ng also fulfilled the qualifying requirements.
However, Ng has withdrawn from the selection process, citing academic pressure and the difficulties involved with travelling amid Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. She felt she was unable to commit the time required to train and compete at the highest level.
Now 20, Ng was the first ever Hong Kong representative in skiing at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang almost four years ago.
Ng’s withdrawal means Hong Kong needed to find another female skier before the qualification deadline on January 16 and King stepped up with her performances this week.
The youngster also represented Hong Kong at the 2020 Youth Winter Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland. King has been skiing since she was four, and used to visit ski resorts such as those in Niseko, Japan, with her family around four times a year.
The Hokkaido town was also where Audrey had her first taste of ski racing, which eventually led to her joining the Hong Kong Alpine skiing team five years ago. The niche representative team at the time had only a few members, most of them based abroad.
The Hong Kong Olympic Committee has yet to receive nominations for the Winter Games from the respective national sports associations, with the Skating Union set to put forward short-track speed skater Sidney Chu.
“So far we are still waiting for the nominations and will check with respective international federations once we have received the information,” said an Olympic Committee official. “We don’t have too many athletes who qualify for the Winter Olympics and if we can send three to Beijing this time, it will be the largest ever.”
The Skating Union said they would nominate Chu for the Games although it was another athlete, Sui Xin, who secured a place for Hong Kong in the men’s 500 metres. Sui, who switched from China to Hong Kong in 2017, has yet to obtain his Hong Kong passport, which is a prerequisite for competing in the Olympic Games.
