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Ada Li

The 2026 Winter Olympics has come too soon for some of Hong Kong’s young athletes, but the next generation of speed skating hopefuls is already taking aim at future Games.
Inspired by Sidney Chu’s appearance at the 2022 edition in Beijing, scores of skaters – the youngest just five years old – took to the ice at Discovery Bay for the annual Hong Kong Cup on Tuesday.
Tristan Lo Cheuk-yan took the men’s elite Junior A 1,000m and 500m titles, clocking one minute, 41.72 seconds and 47.029 seconds, respectively.
Having trained in the sport for almost four years, the 15-year-old said he had caught the skating bug after watching Chu compete at the National Speed Skating Oval almost four years ago.
Now based in Toronto, Lo said the training environment in Canada was very different from Hong Kong.

“There is more off-ice training, including strength work, in Hong Kong because of limited ice time,” Lo said. “In Canada, I get more time on the ice, which helps me improve my feel and rhythm during skating.”
Lo will represent the city at February’s World Junior Championships in Italy, where he hopes to reach either the A or B final.
Jamie Wan, who raced in the men’s Elite B 1,000m and 500m, admitted he was not satisfied with his performance in the race. Wan failed to reach the final of the 1,000m and finished fifth at the 500m A final with 52.047 seconds.
The 12-year-old switched from figure skating to short track after attending an experience camp following the 2022 Olympics, which made him realise he was more interested in speed than artistry.
Training five times a week, Wan hoped to break 49 seconds in the 500m soon, but acknowledged that he needed to “improve my start reaction and take a tighter line”.
Wan’s mother said she worried about balancing sports and school but fully supported her son’s passion.
“At first I thought this sport was just going round and round,” Mrs Elizabeth Wan said. “But my son told me it is not like that – you need to think, predict your rivals’ moves and plan your start. Skating is not just about speed.”
She said she had seen her son grow mentally through the sport and even accompanied him overseas for training and competition during the holidays.

Ming Yihan, a short-track speed skating coach from Liaoning in northeastern China who has been a teacher in Hong Kong for 18 months, said the skating culture was very different.
“In the northeast, skating has a huge participation base and a full development system, from beginner to elite level,” Ming said. “Hong Kong is just starting to build that pathway, but the kids here are purely motivated; those who stay really love the sport.”
Ming’s club, Hong Kong Speed Skating Academy, trains at three local rinks including DB Ice Rink, Mega Ice and LOHAS Rink, with sessions about 45 minutes long because of limited and costly ice time.
“We often spend most of that just warming up,” he said. “More ice hours would make a big difference.”
Ming believed the coming Winter Olympics could further boost the sport’s popularity.
“With Hong Kong athletes taking part again, the Games should bring another wave of interest,” Ming said.


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Hong Kong’s 2022 Olympics speed skater Sidney Chu with several young skaters, including Jamie Wan (second from right), at the Hong Kong Cup in Discovery Bay on Tuesday. Photo: Ada Li

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Ming Yihan said the training culture in Hong Kong was very different from that in northeastern China. Photo: Ada Li

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Hong Kong

Skaters such as Tristan Lo say being able to have more time on the rinks would make a huge difference to city’s growing prospects


Skaters such as Tristan Lo say being able to have more time on the rinks would make a huge difference to city’s growing prospects.


Young speed skaters inspired by Olympian Sidney Chu take to the ice at annual Hong Kong Cup

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Skaters such as Tristan Lo say being able to have more time on the rinks would make a huge difference to city’s growing prospects

Skaters such as Tristan Lo say being able to have more time on the rinks would make a huge difference to city’s growing prospects