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In mainland China, speed skater Sidney Chu is known for going viral as Hong Kong’s “handsome” flag bearer at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
But before his rise to social media stardom, Chu built a reputation as Hong Kong’s best speed skater.
Now, the 25-year-old is not just seeking individual success.
“I always thought if I ever make the Olympics, my goal is to make sure that the next generation doesn’t have to put in as much work as I had to,” he said.
Out on the ice
Chu first experienced the ice rink at the age of five when he started playing ice hockey, which he continued as a way to socialise.
But he soon came to enjoy the rush of skating at high speeds.
“I love that feeling of going fast on the ice,” Chu said.
As an 11-year-old, he had his first look at speed skating in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“I found out that Hong Kong actually had this once-a-week recreational speed skating practice in Festival Walk,” he said.
Chu knew he had to try the sport – and he fell in love instantly.
“It was exactly what I wanted from [ice] hockey,” he said. “There was this whole sport dedicated to just going fast on the ice.”
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Chu had a lot of passion, but he knew that becoming a winter sport athlete would not be easy. He and other speed skaters often went to the mainland to practise, as the city had few resources for the sport.
“We were essentially weekend warriors,” Chu said.
This meant taking a 2½-hour bus ride to Dongguan, Guangdong province, after school on Friday nights to spend the weekend training.
“I honestly missed out on a lot of school because I just had to [travel] almost every weekend,” he said.
Chu added that he was jealous of athletes from other sports who could train closer to home.
But the hard work paid off when he made Hong Kong’s team for the 2022 Games in Beijing.
The Olympic dream
Unlike many other sports, speed skating “is very tied to the Olympics”, according to Chu.
But he only realised the strength of this connection when a coach said he should train for the Games.
One session on the ice a week was not enough.
“That’s when I started going to northeastern China and other places to search for more professional training opportunities,” Chu said.
The speed skater achieved his “childhood dream” by representing Hong Kong in Beijing aged just 22.
Mainland social media users quickly embraced the youngster, calling him the city’s handsome flag bearer after his appearance at the opening ceremony.
Chu woke up the next day with a lengthy list of social media notifications.
He asked himself: “How can I turn this media attention and this energy into something that I can use back in Hong Kong?”
Sharing his passion
The media attention has helped Chu to develop speed skating locally.
“I floated this idea with my coaches ... to start a club in Hong Kong ... to make sure that speed skating has a home in Hong Kong,” he said. “[The Winter Olympics] was the perfect time to do this.”
Naturally, the main attraction was to skate with an Olympian. But the fees were low too, and all the equipment was provided. Chu soon secured nearly 300 sign-ups.
He used this momentum to launch the Hong Kong Speed Skating Academy.
The academy, where Chu serves as executive director, provides lessons for youngsters and aims to improve the sport’s popularity.
Chu said he hoped his efforts would help provide a base for young talent, so they did not have to cross the border “all the time” to train on the mainland.
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He recently represented the city in the 2025 Asian Winter Games, which wrapped up in February.
Chu said he was keen to see an athlete from the next generation of Hongkongers standing on a Winter Olympics podium, even if he did not get the chance himself.
“If I can see one of my students in the future go on that podium and win that Olympic gold medal, that would make my dream come true,” the star skater said.
“Even if it’s one of my students 10 years down the line, that would [mean] the world to me.”
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