Hong Kong’s Ian Ho reflects on becoming first male swimmer to win gold at National Games

For the past decade, Siobhan Haughey has spent a lot of time in the spotlight as the city’s star of the pool, but she is not the only swimmer making waves at the National Games.

Ian Ho Yentou grabbed his share of headlines on Sunday, storming to the men’s 50m freestyle gold in Shenzhen by winning the final that also included China’s Olympic star Pan Zhanle.

Ho’s success marked the first time a Hong Kong men’s swimmer has won a gold medal at the multi-sports games in China. And what is just as impressive, the veteran swimmer won in a time of 21.71 seconds, shattering the city’s record, which he set only months ago at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

The day after claiming his historic gold at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Ho reflected on his remarkable feat to the Post.

“It was sick. I was very pleased with it,” said the United States-born swimmer, who arrived just over two months before Hong Kong’s 1997 handover back to China. “It’s one of those feelings that you can’t really believe until you have it.

“Definitely surreal, and with that, there is a lot of gratitude. Just feeling so grateful to all the people who helped me along the way, it’s really special.”