Hongkonger sets indoor rowing world record hours after finishing a 20km water session
- Chan Chi-fung rows for 20km in the morning and then sets the world record on a rowing machine in the afternoon, without even realising it
- He now holds the lightweight men, 19-to-29 years old, Concept2 Indoor Rower with slides record
When Chan Chi-fung stepped off the rowing machine on July 28 he did not even realise he had just set a new world record. What makes it more amazing still is Chan had already rowed 20km that morning before the indoor session.
“It was a normal training session. I didn't know it was a record pace until afterwards,” Chan, 22, said.
“We usually do a hard 30-minute session for the whole team every Tuesday afternoon. The coaches set a target pace and if we succeed then the target goes up by one per cent next week and so on.
“I had rowed 20km on the water in the morning, so I was just aiming to hold the target pace for the first 20 minutes. When I found I was still feeling good, I decided to push up the last 10 minutes and really stepped up the power.”
Chan rowed 8,772m in 30 minutes and now holds the lightweight men’s, 19-29, world record, set on a Concept2 indoor rower, with slides. Slides are a frame on the floor that allows the machine to move back and forth with the momentum of the rower.