Ice swimmer intends to keep attending international meets to show that ‘Hong Kong is here’
Mak Chun-kong, who left his baby behind to compete at the World Championships in Italy, says representing Hong Kong is ‘sentimental’ to him
Competitive ice swimmer Mak Chun-kong may not be as fast as he was when he first started seven years ago, but he has vowed to keep showing up at international competitions to show the world “that Hong Kong is here”.
Mak, who is Hong Kong’s only competitive ice swimmer, competed in six events in Molveno at the IISA 6th World Championships, which attracted more than 700 swimmers.
The 38-year-old travelled from his home in the Czech Republic to northern Italy, leaving behind his eight-month-old son, because representing Hong Kong was deeply “sentimental” to him.
“It’s important for me that people still see the ‘HKG’ … I want them to see that Hong Kong is here, and I feel happy when there are swimmers from different countries coming over to me and telling me stories about Hong Kong,” Mak said.
Mak, who is a part-time Cantonese teacher at the Masaryk University in Brno and a freelance English tutor, competed in the 100, 250 and 500 metres freestyle as well as the 50m and 100m butterfly, and 200m individual medley in water that was 1 degrees Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit).
“I was a bit disappointed when I got out of the water and looked at the time – I haven’t been that slow for years,” he said of the 1,000m freestyle, which he completed in 18 minutes, 31.61 seconds.