I did DWB TT, my first swimming race today since the COVID pandemic began in February. It is a race using interval start that drafting is not allowed. The actual course length was 2.67 km and I completed in 0:57:39, 62nd place out of 111 completed participants. By cross-comparing the results of MMIC last year (there are 23 participants who did both), I remained at the same level. My original training plan before the pandemic was to do technique and…
On 12 August, Isaac Yuen did an experimental swim near his home observed by me, which became the inaugural MSF documented swim (currently pending ratification) in Hong Kong. The swim itself is only a small challenge, especially for an experienced ultra-endurance athlete which has done more than 50 marathons / ultra-marathons / trail running races. What’s valuable is that by doing this swim, we have got a lot of experience in swim planning, crewing, observing, etc. according to the internationally-recognised…
Within a week, 4 Hongkongers made history in the English Channel as the first ever solo Hongkonger and the first ever Hong Kong relay team to swim across it. The solo crossing was done by Chun Kong Mak. He lives in Czechia currently. He is a seasoned marathon swimmer and ice swimmer. Last year he also became the first ever Hongkonger to complete an ice mile. He started at 23:39 1st September and got it across in 13 hours and…
Hongkongers are going to make history in the English Channel soon. In a few days’ time, there will be a solo and a relay team attempting to swim the 33-km crossing from England to France. Chun Kong Mak will likely depart tomorrow on a spring tide, weather permitting. He will attempt to become the first Hongkonger to swim the English Channel solo. He is a very accomplished open water swimmer. He raced a lot of marathon swimming races in Czechia….
Open water swimming in Hong Kong is now becoming increasingly popular. In the recent few years more and more people have escaped from the confinement of the walls and got into the sea, with a surge in these few months caused by pool closure as well. However, I feel that our potential of taking this to the extreme has not developed yet. In élite level, we have young kids like Bill Thorley who are really doing well. Now marathon swimming…
It has been a while after I have made my last blog post, and now the situation has changed a lot, including Hong Kong, the pandemic, etc. The new “national security law” has been imposed on Hong Kong by the Chinese Central Government bypassing the Hong Kong government completely which means “one country two systems” have been destroyed. The UK has officially declared that Sino-British Joint Declaration is violated. A few countries have already suspended the extradition treaty with Hong…
My upcoming marathon swimming race, Vidösternsimmet, which is originally planned to held on 8th August this year has been postponed to 14th August 2021 due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It means that my 2020 marathon swim season is over because going to Europe this summer is now unlikely, and I will not do marathon swimming in Hong Kong before November (i.e. I will not do a Clean Half solo) because it is too hot for me. The earliest opportunity for…
3 HKU alumni lawyers Eliza Chang, Allan Che and Eugene Wong will form a relay team to swim the English Channel this July, named “The Rule of Law Swimming Marathon”. They are planning to become the first ever Hong Kong relay team to cross the channel. They have been preparing for this challenge in the past 18 months, with the initial idea of a 6-person relay, 3 lawyers from Hong Kong and 3 lawyers from Guangdong. However the Guangdong team…
Today is Ching Ming Festival, a traditional festival (along with Chung Yeung Festival in autumn) for families to visit the tombs of ancestors, clean them up, pray for them and make rituals. Our family currently don’t celebrate Ching Ming Festival because our parents are very healthy, and we believe that we should respect them when they are alive rather than pray for them afterwards. However, this year, although my family stay healthy, there is a pandemic called COVID-19 ongoing which…
Chun Kong Mak has announced that he will attempt to swim across the English Channel this October, hoping to become the first Hongkonger to complete this epic challenge in open water swimming. He currently lives in Brno, Czechia. He is an experienced long-distance swimmer and ice swimmer, the only ice swimmer from Hong Kong with his first ice mile in 2019, and his second this year in butterfly. He and 3 other Czech swimmers crossed Loch Ness as a relay…