ProfileBeijing Winter Olympics: Adrian Yung, Hong Kong’s 17-year-old Alpine skier who went ‘shooting for the moon’ and succeeded

Alpine skier Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen is living a dream he never thought would come true so soon. The 17-year-old is considered Hong Kong’s best men’s ski prospect after becoming the city’s only athlete to meet the Games’ minimum standard in the slalom and giant slalom events. He is Hong Kong’s first-ever male skier at a Games and one of three athletes from the city to take part in the Beijing Winter Olympics. “I was staring at my phone quite a bit in disbelief. It’s only recently that it’s sunk in,” Yung told the Post. “I was actually really surprised and never thought I’d have the opportunity to represent Hong Kong so quickly. It was quite a long and challenging season for me and I wasn’t really focused on qualifying for the Olympics.” Born in Malaysia to Hong Kong parents, Yung spent much of his formative years in the city, before moving to Oxford, England, where he emerged as one of Great Britain’s most promising youth skiers. Despite previously hoping to represent Team GB as a junior, he finds himself part of Hong Kong’s largest-ever Winter Olympics athlete delegation and is ready to give it “120 per cent” while donning the city’s red and white. “Hong Kong is where I grew up at the start. It’s where I believe is home,” Yung said. “My parents are from here, lived here, worked here. I feel more attachment emotionally and physically to Hong Kong to any other place. It’s always special to return because I feel like this is where I belong. “It’s definitely a great honour to represent Hong Kong. It feels incredible to have a goal from young so quickly and I’m forever grateful for all the support it took to get to where I am today. I will give my 120 per cent for the opportunity to compete against the world’s best skiers.” He and fellow Olympic-qualified skier Audrey King spent much of the season in-and-around Bosnia, the home of Hong Kong head coach and former Olympian Marko Rudic. Yung clocked solid outings and top-10 finishes in Europe this season, including a ninth-place finish in an FIS slalom event in the Bjelasic mountains, and fourth-place in the giant slalom at the Kolasin Cup in Montenegro in December. He became a Hong Kong ski team member in 2018, memorably helping them rank second in the slalom and third in the giant slalom at the Winter Children of Asia International Sports Games in Sakhalin, Russia in 2019. He also competed at the China National Winter Games the same year, finishing 14th. Yung’s snow-sports success can be traced back to the age of two, where he would watch parents Tim and Fiona, and older siblings Catherine and Christopher cruise the slopes on holiday. “I’d follow family during Chinese New Year and Christmas in Japan and Switzerland. I’ve always been a fan of speed, adrenaline and cold weather,” he said. “I saw some racers training in Switzerland and thought it suited me so I gave it a shot. At eight [years old] I started ski training and racing, only for fun as I was quite a small kid, then at 12 I thought I’d have a go at the Olympics. “Even though it was quite a far-fetched goal, I shot for the moon. It was something I wanted to work towards however long it took me to get to that goal.” The Yungs moved to England in 2010, where he would become a serious junior contender. Having won several U-12 age-grade category events, Yung would go on to win the grand slalom at the 2014 British Alpine Championships. It did not take long for him to be selected for England’s U-14s set-up, soaking up knowledge and experience from then-coach Chimene Alcott. Alcott, a four-time Olympian and seven-time British champion, had identified Yung as a “huge talent”, praising his “unbelievable attitude” and “inner tiger in him” in an interview with Oxford Mail. Suffice to say he has sharpened his tools since then. “That ‘inner tiger’ was definitely part of me when I was younger,” Yung said, laughing. “But I’m not too sure how it fits in now because the way I used to ski was with no regard for result – no thinking, just charging. It’s good in some aspects, but in such a strategic sport like ski racing, you need to find that balance between charging and hanging back. “If you’re charging head first into every gate, there’s a risk of DNF-ing [did not finish, which is not what you want. “For something as big as the Olympics, the first thing I want to do is complete the run so I have that option for a second to charge and try to climb the rankings. I will try to do just that.” Yung competes in the men’s giant slalom on February 13 and men’s slalom on February 16.