Sports Science student Maisy Chan takes gold in women’s single rope speed sprint
Skipping to new heights
Four Sports Science and Physical Education (SSPE) students of CUHK have won 21 medals and broken three world records in the World Jump Rope Championships 2023 held in Colorado, United States last month.
The competition, with over 1,200 athletes from 27 countries taking part, was the first in-person international jump rope event held since the COVID-19 pandemic eased. It was broadcast live on the Olympic Channel.
Maisy Chan Hiu-lam (PESH Year 4), Yan Chui-shan (PESH Year 6), Evan Pang Pak-kin (ESHE Year 1) and Ip Sum-tim (ESHE Year 1) were members of the Hong Kong, China team, all of whom won prizes in different events.
Among their achievements, Maisy took gold in single rope speed 1x30s and came third in individual single rope overall in the women’s category. Teaming up with Chui-shan and two other athletes, they broke the world record in female double dutch speed relay (4 x 30s) with 427 jumps in a preliminary event.
Maisy says she is thrilled about breaking the world record. “The speed relay had been our weakest item and my teammates and I kept making mistakes during practice. Fortunately, before the game, we had a frank exchange about each other’s performance. It was a tense process but we took each other’s suggestions for improvement and regained our confidence.”
Although the pandemic had turned competitions to online in the previous years, Maisy and others had kept participating in events held online by submitting videos of their performances.
Maisy says the gyms at CUHK had enabled her to do weight-lifting training outside class time. She thanks the teachers at the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education for their support.
In the male category, Evan bagged five gold medals, including team all-round, team single rope overall and team double dutch overall. He also broke the world record for male double dutch speed sprint with two teammates with 244 jumps in 60 seconds.
Evan Pang (rope skipper) and teammates break the world record in male double dutch speed sprint
“Rope skipping is a unique sport. By using one or two ropes, we can already perform a lot of different skills and compete with others,” Evan says. “Through rope skipping, I have improved my communication skills as teamwork is crucial.”
He says the sports facilities at CUHK allowed him to improve his skills and his classes in Exercise Science and Health Education has taught him how to be physically and mentally prepared for competitions.
