Standing at the starting line of a race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, Hong Kong alpine skier Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen wondered if he would ever compete as an Olympian again.
“Just soak it all in,” he thought to himself. “Soak in ... the vibes and enjoy it.”
The 21-year-old, who was Hong Kong’s first male skier to compete at an Olympic Games, described his sport as “brutal and unforgiving”.
“If you DNF [Did Not Finish] or get disqualified on your first run ... that’s you out for the entire race,” Yung explained. “You really do need two perfect runs.”
At the Milano Cortina Games, Yung finished in 68th place for the giant slalom category. In the slalom skiing category, however, he made a mistake during the first run and failed to qualify for the second round.
Still, Yung was proud of his status as the youngest two-time Winter Olympian from Hong Kong.
“It definitely means a lot to me. It’s evidence of my own hard work, tenacity and grit,” he said.
A long and lonely walk
After failing to finish his race at the previous Winter Olympics in Beijing, Yung described walking back to the room where competitors prepare for their events.
“Not only is it a long walk, but also a very lonely one,” he said. “You have so many thoughts rushing through your head. Time moves super slow in that moment.”
After this upset, Yung said he took a step back to acknowledge his mistakes.
However, he refused to let it consume him and dived back into training. “When you lose that fighting spirit, you retire,” he noted.
He said the best approach is to “focus on your own skiing, and then ... let other people [make their own mistakes]”.
His views on success have not changed since his difficult Olympic debut. “Give your absolute best and fight until the end,” he said.
“Making small improvements in your daily life so that you wake up the next day better than yesterday’s self is a win.”
From first snow to the Olympics
Skiing was a hobby at first. But when Yung was eight years old, he told his parents he wanted to start racing.
“I enjoyed the speed and adrenaline,” he said.
At 15, he decided to join the Hong Kong team and begin competing internationally. When he was 16, the Olympic hopeful scored the required points to qualify for his first Games.
“I didn’t really think I could qualify so fast,” he said. “And that just rattled me quite a bit.”
If he could go back and sit down with himself at his first Olympics, what advice would he give himself?
“Do it for yourself,” he said. “Don’t worry about what everyone else expects or wants from you because it doesn’t matter what they’re thinking. Chances are, you have the highest expectations of yourself,” he added.
More than a skier
Alpine skiing may look like a solitary sport, but Yung insists he does not feel alone. The young skier said it’s a team effort, and that he is always accompanied by his coaches and teammates until he reaches the starting gate. His biggest motivation is his family: “They’ve been with me since the start.”
Yung offered some simple advice for young people facing obstacles: “Just take a moment of pause.”
“Go out for some fresh air ... and just stop and admire the little things in life, the world around you.”
Additional reporting by Brian Cheng from SCMP’s Video desk
