Laureus Sport for Good: Olympic quartet put Hong Kongs children through their paces at Model City

A trio of Olympic gold medallists put some of Hong Kong’s children through their paces this week, as Laureus Sport for Good landed in the city ahead of the Sevens.

Chris Hoy, Daley Thompson and Li Xiaopeng, who each won gold at multiple Games in cycling, decathlon and gymnastics, visited Model City Hong Kong, Laureus initiative that works on improve the mental health of the younger generation.

Joining them was fellow Laureus ambassador Wong Kam-po, a track and road cyclist who represented Hong Kong at five Olympic Games.

Laureus has supported the Model City for several years, and during Thursday’s visit, the Olympians met with young people from programmes across a range of sports.

These include RunOurCity Foundation, a group which uses distance running to empower young people and develop mental strength; Rugby For Good, an organisation bringing communities together through rugby; InspiringHK Sports Foundation that builds better youths through various different sports and RUN Hong Kong, a project using sport and education to support refugees in building a life with safety and dignity.

Li said the opportunity to be part of the initiative was one of the reasons he was proud to be part of the Laureus system.

“The organisations involved in Model City Hong Kong are both innovative and inspirational, collaborating to use the power of sport to address the serious youth mental health crisis here in the city,” he said. “Working together, we can always achieve more.”

Wong, said with the eyes of the world on the city for the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, it was important that the group used the time to “show the power that sport can have to improve the mental health of our young people”.

“The experience of this generation is so different from that shared by us as athletes – from changes in technology to the pandemic. But sport has always had the power to lift the spirit, to bring us together and to empower us. That’s a message we have to share with the world.”

Laureus Sport for Good first began its work in Hong Kong in 2005 as part of its aim to support sport for development across Asia.

Since its inception in 2000, the organisation has positively impacted the lives of more than 6½ million children and young people. Today it supports more than 275 programmes in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

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