Page 20 - Sphere No.26 (Mar 2010)

Team P l aye r s
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Sphere 18 High-Flyer
A Real
Welcome to Team Players, a new feature about members
of staff who have done something remarkable outside
the office and how this helps them in the work place.
‘HURDLES KING’ Henry Tang Hon-sing, Hong Kong record holder of men’s 110 metre hurdles and 400
metre hurdles, has raced against some of the world’s best hurdlers, including China’s Olympic gold medalist
Liu Xiang. He now works at the Watsons Athletic Club in Hong Kong. Sphere sat down with him to find out
how being a leading athlete has helped him in his personal and professional life.
How did you get involved in athletics?
When I was in Form 1, I participated in the school’s sports meet. I got into the 100 metre finals and came
eighth, which really meant last. I was quite frustrated and discouraged. Kids like to win. A few months
later, there was an inter-school sports meet, so I started doing some training myself. Then in Form 2, I
started growing and suddenly ran the 100 metres over a second faster, so sports teachers started to notice
me and athletic clubs wanted to recruit me. Then I started training with professional coaches.
Why the 110m hurdles?
At 19, I got injured during an international competition and stopped competing for over a year. When
I started again, I wasn’t very fast and was really upset. Then I saw some people hurdling. At the time
hurdling wasn’t popular but I tried and it felt good. The more I trained, the more I liked it.
MAIN PHOTO: KEITH CHAN