February 1999

Sports Amphibians

    Modern athletes assume a familiar trajectory: gifted athletes with brilliant skills produce a batch of impressive wins followed by a short physical peak.

    After their vintage has past, they can hardly have another one.

    For some athletes, however, not only do they manage to achieve two peaks, but in different fields.

    Malina Ngai is one of the very few versatile athletes in Hong Kong who does well in two sports.

" I like many sports, such as volleyball and badminton, but I chose track and field because I am introverted," said she. " Also, I do not have to work with others as it is an individual sport."

She first broke the local record in discus throwing at the young age of 15.

She reached her peak in track and field in 1987. Within that year, she rewrote the discus record five times.

However, that peak did not last long, as she strained a ligament in her ankle during a javelin competition in 1988.

    " The doctor told me that I could hardly have another peak," said she.

    She did not want to have an operation because it would take her a year to recover totally.

    " I was very depressed. I couldn't wait that long."

    At that time, she won a scholarship to study sports administration in Canberra, Australia, and she decided to go there.

    She still refused to undergo any operation until one day she met a recreational runner who inspired her to do so.

    " My friend was injured and prepared to do an operation because she loved running a lot," said she. " I thought I had to do the same thing because I was very much into running too.

    " After all, I could not wallow in self-pity for the rest of my life."

    The operation was successful and the recovery was faster than expected.

She kept on training. With her efforts, she broke another Hong Kong discus record in Australia in 1991 and won the Outstanding Student Award presented by the Australian Society for Sport Administration. Although she was fit physically, her journey of psychological recovery was paced a lot slower.

    I didn't think I could work up my courage to throw the javelin again," she said. " The pain was so great that it had been overshadowing me for a long time."

    When she came back from Australia, she met a national rowing coach who was looking for athletes with a flair for rowing. She decided to give it a try.

    Said she: " I was not good at swimming and I was scared of water, but I did fairly well in rowing."

    Leaving behind what is familiar in exchange for something that is totally unknown requires great courage and determination.

    Malina chose to switch from track and field to rowing because she wanted to strike for some breakthroughs.

    " It would be very difficult for me to have further improvement in track and field," said she." It might take me five years to be 0.1 seconds faster while athletes in other countries might only need one year to do so, because they have advanced training methods and better facilities."

    She was in the Hong Kong rowing squad in 1992 although she had not expected to be chosen.

    " I studied sports science and am in no doubt that I have benefited from it," said she. " I picked up what the coach said easily and quickly."

    Past training from track and field gave her the physical fitness required in rowing. Good muscle coordination was also another advantage.

    " I was the first runner-up in the 2000 m double scull in the Asian Championship in 1993 and it was my peak," said she.

    It was a big boost to her ego when she won a bronze medal in the same event in the 1994 Asian Games.

    Miss Ng Ka Lok is another typical versatile athlete in Hong Kong.

    Having represented Hong Kong five times in the Asian Games, she won a silver and a bronze medal in swimming and two silver medals in rowing.

    " Ng Ka Lok received training when she was young and she had already reached her peak in swimming at the age of 16," said Dr. Chung Pak Kwong, the director of the Elite Training Group of the Hong Kong Sports Development Board.

    " When she knew that she could no longer have any breakthroughs in swimming, she switched to rowing.

    " She managed to reach a level good enough for her to represent Hong Kong because she had put a lot of time and effort into rowing," said he. " Also, her muscle coordination is good."

    In universities, there are also some versatile athletes representing their institutions in several sports.

    Miss Holly Tau, a member of the rowing team and the tennis team of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that it is possible for her to master the skills in both sports.

    " Rowing and tennis are two completely different sports," said she. " Rowing requires endurance while tennis is skill-oriented."

    " If I can devote enough time to them, I think I can play well," said she.

    According to Dr. Chung, athletes who manage to reach world-class level in two sports is a rare find indeed.

    Said he: " Carl Lewis managed to do well in both 100 m and long jump because the two sports require quick reflexes and fast ground speed. The two sports supplement each other."

    " While it is possible for an athlete to win in both track and field, I haven't seen anyone who can win two Olympic medals in two different sports so far.

    On the other hand, although Michael Jordan once turned to baseball when he wished to take a break from basketball, his performance in baseball was not as outstanding as that in basketball.

    " Michael Jordan played in the Baseball League for a while but he still owes his fame to basketball," Dr. Chung said.

    Dr. Chung pointed out that if athletes want to switch from one sport to another, it is better for them to choose a sport that requires strength and endurance, such as running and cycling, rather than a skill-oriented sport, such as tennis or badminton.

    Malina shared the same view: " I admit that it is very difficult for me to switch from one sport to another and do well in both of them. However, it is not impossible if you make up your mind to achieve it."

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