Advertisement
Paris Olympics: viewers get ‘heart attack’ while Hong Kong medallists show mental grit
- Sports psychologists unpack the mental tactics that helped propel Cheung Ka-long and other athletes to victory
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
The mental toughness that Hong Kong’s winning athletes have displayed at the Paris Olympics has stunned spectators at home, with experts pointing to decisive psychological moves made during the heat of competition and the benefit of adopting a spirit of “swimming upstream”.
They analysed the winning tactics after fencers Cheung Ka-long and Vivian Kong Man-wai recovered from early setbacks to win gold, while Siobhan Haughey came away with bronze.
Patrick Lau Wing-chung, a professor of physical education at Baptist University, where Cheung studies, on Tuesday said: “Eighty per cent [of their victories] depended on their mental state.”
Advertisement
Both foilist Cheung and épéeist Kong overcame the setbacks they faced during their finals, which some have called the “Hong Kong spirit”.
Cheung’s father told local media his heart “could not handle” the stress while watching the match, despite having confidence in his son.
Advertisement
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung shared a similar sentiment and said Cheung’s match “almost gave him a heart attack”.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x