Celebrity Life
Watch Nicholas Choi Teach Cecilia Yeung How to Fence
Our cover personalities tend to be extremely busy people ā but we must admire the unwavering sportsmanship and animated demeanor displayed by both Cecilia Yeung and Nicholas Choi over the course of an eight-hour shoot on a Saturday evening.
The two professional athletes arrived on the set following a week of intensive training for their respective sports: high-jump and fencing. If they were exhausted ā as we almost certainly would have been ā they never once let it show as we put them through their paces. They arm-wrestled, jumped on trampolines, and laughed their way through a core workout together ā and at one point, Choi even gave Yeung a bout of fencing instruction, but not before the high-jump master puts him through three rounds of an intense core workout.
Watch it all unfold in the video below.
The post Watch Nicholas Choi Teach Cecilia Yeung How to Fence appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.
High-jumper Cecilia Yeung and Fencer Nicholas Choi on Their Olympian Dreams
No guts, no glory; no pain, no gain. High-jumper Cecilia Yeung and fencer Nicholas Choi have been competing professionally for most of their adult lives and understand, more than anyone else, what itās like to deal with self-doubt and struggle. We talk to the two athletes and influencers about their drive, their sacrifices and their olympian dreams.
Competing in the Olympics is a dream harboured by every serious athlete. Getting there is another story. Talent alone isnāt enough ā a multitude of other factors come into play: passion, hard work, strength of mind, timing, maybe even a stroke of luck. Traditional media tends to focus on the big wins ā breaking records and going to the Olympics are headliners that draw peopleās attention. But behind the scenes, an athleteās internal battles, sustained injuries and stagnant growth donāt always come to light.
Professional Hong Kong athletes Cecilia Yeung and Nicholas Choi tell us that struggle is just as important as milestones. Yeung made headlines when she cleared 1.88 metres and set the current Hong Kong womenās high-jump record in 2017. Choi shot to fame when he qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics and, at the age of 19, became the youngest fencer to represent Hong Kong at the Games. Today, theyāre both sitting out the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, but their sights are still on the ball ā going to the Games in 2024 in Paris is a shared dream.
āIt was always a dream for me to go,ā Choi tells me on the day of the cover shoot. Itās a rainy Saturday afternoon, but Choi is all smiles on and off the camera, his slicked-back, platinum-blond hair cutting through the gloom. āFor fencing, the biggest competition is the Olympics.ā In fact, when he did eventually qualify to go, it didnāt feel real. āI felt like it was still a dream.
I called my parents, my family, everyone was crying and everyone was so happy. But for me, it took a few days for it to sink in and for me to be like, Oh my God, Iām actually going to the Olympics. Like, actually.ā
The former Olympian grew up around fencing. His father was a team manager for the Hong Kong Fencing Association and his twin sister, Natasha Erica Choi, competed at an international junior level. In fact, heās credited his sister in the past for being his motivation. When she was selected to join the Hong Kong Sports Institute junior fencing team, he resolved to train harder so heād have his turn too.
And his turn did come. In 2010, Choi placed second at the Cadet World Championships and in the same year qualified for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. By 2012, he was part of the senior fencing team and went to the 2012 Summer Olympics, for which he received a Hong Kong Potential Star Award. In 2018, at the Asian Games, he won a silver medal in the menās foil event.
But his rapid move through the ranks took its toll.In December 2018, he announced his retirement from the sport, posting on Instagram, āThe past 15 years have been an incredible journey. Itās now time for me to venture elsewhere and create a new chapter in my life, even if thereās no absolute plan about my future for now.ā
Heās been training every day since he was 14 as a junior cadet, he tells me. āIt was a very easy decision to retire in 2018 because, back then, I really felt like I was done. After the Asian Games, I was so done with fencing. I knew I did really well, but I wanted to start a new page. I was tired of doing the same thing every day and there were other things I wanted to do, other things I hada passion for.ā
Sport, at the highest level, can be a lonely journey that not everyoneās capable of making. Choi struggled as early as 2015, but his coach, his teammates and therapy helped pull him through. Itās a struggle that Hong Kong high-jumper Yeung understands completely, having found herself in similar circumstances during her formative years.
Yeung only became a full-time high jumper in 2016, when she was in her second year of university, explaining her decision as a natural evolution in her sporting career. āIt was simply a matter of feeling that I had the potential, and at that time I wanted to put more time into it, to see how far I could go. Thatās how I became a full-time athlete,ā she says.
She discovered a talent for jumping when she was in her high-school volleyball team and her schoolmates would comment on how high she could reach during her spikes. She started training with a part-time coach; within two years she found herself ranking among Hong Kongās best athletes and joined the Hong Kong team. This year marks her 13th year in the sport.
āI began to realise that I was actually pretty good at this. I felt like I belonged here,ā says Yeung. āOne of the reasons why I love high jump so much is because of this feeling you get, this āhang timeā, which is like a moment of suspension in the air when it feels as if time has completely stopped. It makes me feel as if Iāve left the world behind and Iām looking down and everything is in slow motion. Itās an amazing feeling and thatās howI fell in love with the sport.ā
Yet she struggled to make an impact. As a member of the Hong Kong team, Yeung was good, but she wasnāt the best and for a long time ā six years, in fact ā felt she was making little or no improvement. āThere was a six-year period when nothing happened, and I wasnāt improving or breaking records. I wasnāt even ranked first in Hong Kong at the time. I wasnāt special among my team members.ā
Yeung says she tended to overthink and get into her own head, and as much as she wanted to improve and work hard, there was a mental block she couldnāt overcome ā or at least not until she took time away from the sport to figure things out.
āI set aside high jumping for a bit,ā she recalls. āFor nine months, I completely stopped jumping and focused on other things instead. I picked up dancing in university and joined the dance team. I think thatās when I learned how to relax and I started to make sense of where I was with the sport.ā
Yeungās fitness and strength improved with her dancing, and she was able to get back into high jumps with a fresh mind. āIt was only when it was time to enter competitions again that I actually got back into high jumping. Everything felt so fresh. Thatās when I started to see results and started breaking Hong Kong records.ā
āāHang timeā is a moment of suspension in the air when itās as if time has completely stopped. It makes me feel as if Iāve left the world behind ā¦ Itās why I fell in love with the sport."
Cecilia Yeung
When, at last, she broke the record she was elated. āThe moment I found out Iād broken the record, I was at an all-time high. It took me eight years, but I did it!
I was high jumping for two years and did really well before I joined the Hong Kong team, which was when I set myself the goal of breaking the Hong Kong record. After I said that, it only took me six years to actually achieve it,ā she says, laughing at the irony.
āI feel that there are a lot of things that only become meaningful because of how hard it was to achieve them. Maybe itās my mindset,ā says Yeung. āThings that come too easily for me make me not know how to treasure them. I need to know that Iāve put in a lot of effort for something great to happen. Thatās when I learn to treasure it.ā
Every moment of glory is underlined with years of strife and sacrifice. According to Yeung, her career can roughly be divided into three stages. The initial stage was the long road to her first Hong Kong record. The second stage was when she was at her peak, breaking six records in succession ā until she injured herself and tore a tendon in her Achilles heel, effectively putting her out of the sport while she recovered. Now, sheās getting back into the sport post-injury, feeling more mature and in a better place mentally.
Both Yeung and Choi live extraordinary lives outside of their sports. When Choi took a break in 2018, he turned his attention to fashion, an area of interest he shares with his sister. Whereas his sister works for a brand, Choi makes a living from being an influencer, showcasing his immense sense of style on Instagram, and attending shows and events in Hong Kong.
āI love doing shoots,ā he tells me. āItās kind of like a healing time for me from training and other stuff. When Iām at a shoot, I feel really relaxed.ā Choi loved fashion enough to step away from the world of sport and write a new chapter for himself. When he retired from fencing two years ago, he really thought it was the end. But now, after a two-year hiatus and amid Covid, the sport has once again piqued his interest.
āI was really stressed and tired of fencing then, but now that Iāve taken a break, I thought it might be good to pick it back up again.ā Covid changed things for Choi, who had his heart set on attending fashion weeks and travelling the world. Finding himself stuck in Hong Kong, fencing once again piqued his interest. As it was his passion for so long, it seemed right that it would drag him out of this interminably depressing situation.
When Choi retired from fencing two years ago he thought it was the end. Now, after a two-year hiatus and amid Covid, the sport has once again piqued his interest
He has a new coach, and although he still has the same teammates he tells me that āit feels very different coming back, itās like a different life. Even though Iām still training with the same teammates, I was the one who left and came back, so everyoneās also different now. We have a different coach, a whole new training programme, so to me itās like, āWow, this is all so new, so fresh.āItās been a month now but itās still fresh to me and Iām really enjoying it.ā
With more life experience under his belt, Choi also feels that heās in a new frame of mind when it comes to competitions. He took part in his first competition in years just a few weeks ago and, without stressing himself too much, he achieved fifth place ā a pretty good start for someone just beginning to get back into the game.
āI used to suck at competing, because Iām always giving myself unnecessary stress,ā he says. āI overthink andI canāt sleep, and during a competition I just want it to end. Itās not healthy for an athlete. And as a fencer, overthinking it wonāt make you better, itāll only make you worse.ā
Choi describes fencing as being like the chess of sports. āWith fencing, Iād say half of itās about physical training. The other half is about mental training, because youāre constantly predicting your opponentās next move. So, before the start of the game, you need to calm down and focus. Even if youāre physically strong, if youāre mentally weak you can lose in the first round. And vice versa, if youāre weaker but you can stay calm, you can just as easily win.ā
Choi is in it for the long haul. āI train every day from Monday to Saturday, but I do have little breaks in between and Iāll go to events or shoots,ā he says.āBut my priority is fencing again. Itās all about time management. If you really want to do something,
Iām sure thereās a way to do what you want.āWhat he really wants is to qualify for the Olympics once again. āMy teammates are going this year andI hope Iāll get to go to the Asian Games next year. But my main goal is the next Olympics. Iām back on the team now and, as professional athletes, we need to aim for the biggest goals.ā
Since her return to high jumping several years ago, Yeungās passion for high jump hasnāt faltered. Although sheās an influencer and part-time model, high jump is her number-one priority. āTo me, high jump is the most unique thing about myself,ā she explains. āThe other things I do give me exposure and opportunities, but they wouldnāt have happened if it werenāt for high jump. It defines me and gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment.ā
She laughs and says she loves to eat ā even when she landed a job in Paris walking in Off-Whiteās fashion show she didnāt give up on eating her favourite things. On the other hand, sheād do anything for a competition, sacrificing late nights and junk food for success on the athletics field.
Yeung could have given up and retired when she injured herself and tore her Achilles heel in 2019, but sheās nowhere near thinking about quitting. āI donāt want to retire yet,ā she says resolutely. āEven though Iām not 100 percent back, I tell myself I must try. At least, even if I fail, Iāll know I tried my best and wonāt regret it later.ā
Throughout our conversation, Yeung often reflects on the kind of person she is and wants to be. She didnāt have the easiest of childhoods ā her parents separated when she was young and in past interviews has described herself as a street kid, extremely independent, preferring to do things on her own rather than receive help from others. She points to volleyball, a team sport that she enjoyed but ultimately dropped in favour of high jump, a solo sport in which her successes and failures depend on her ā and her alone.
āItās just the way I am,ā she says. āIām very harsh on myself. I think I can do it all and Iāll push myself to do everything myself. But now that Iāve had an injury, Iām trying to listen to people more often and I also try to listen to myself more often. If something hurts or doesnāt feel right, Iāll tell my coach rather than try to figure it out myself.ā
Sheās reading The Championās Mind, a book by sports psychologist Jim Afremow on how the greatest athletes think, train and thrive, which she finds deeply inspiring. āIām now at a better place in my mind,ā says Yeung. āI can still feel Iām not where I used to be, and even now Iām still healing from my injury. But Iām improving myself in other areas, and I know I have the ability to be even better than before.ā
Currently aiming to qualify for next yearās Asian Games, she says she still feels sheās a better athlete.āI think my injury has made me learn a lot about myself. I want to be able to enter competitions now with this new and improved Cecilia Yeung, who has a better mindset to deal with big competitions.ā
(Hero Image: (ON HIM) OUTFIT CHRISTIAN DIOR RING BOTTEGA VENETA BRACELET GUCCI (ON HER) OUTFIT CHRISTIAN DIOR EARRINGS, NECKLACE AND BRACELET DIOR)
Cecilia Yeung and Nicholas Choi Cover Story
PHOTOGRAPHY KARL LAM
STYLING JACKY TAM
FIRST ASSISTANT STYLIST LAZ LAM
SECOND ASSISTANT STYLISTS MELODY CHAN AND WAYNE CHOW
MAKE-UP EVELYN HO
HAIR JEAN TONG
The post High-jumper Cecilia Yeung and Fencer Nicholas Choi on Their Olympian Dreams appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.