Hong Kong’s female athletes may appear to be more successful on the international front than their male counterparts but the difference is not that wide, says Hong Kong Sports Institute chief executive Trisha Leahy.
As Hong Kong celebrates its brightest athletes at the Sports Stars Awards ceremony today, past winners have mostly been women with the likes of cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze, squash player Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin, swimmer Siobhan Haughey, snooker world champion Ng On-yee and, of course, 1996 Olympic gold medallist Lee Lai-shan, among the big names who have won the top prize.
However, a closer look at the 19 tier A sports at the Institute shows that the difference in performances may not be that significant, according to Leahy.
Hong Kong’s Sarah Wai Sze Lee (right) is a serial winner of the Hong Kong Sports Stars Award. Photo: AP
“I think it’s great that people put the spotlight on the achievements of Hong Kong’s women athletes,” said Leahy, a female sports psychologist who helped Lee win the Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. “While we should all be proud of our female athletes’ achievements, it is probably not a significant figure when comparing against our male athletes results.”
Leahy said the Institute ran a statistical analysis on elite sports covering the last four-year cycle in four major events – the Asian Championships, World Championships, Asian Games and Olympic Games.
After a closer look at the top eight positions, results showed an almost 50-50 split between male and female athletes performances. And when it came to female medallists, it ranged from 38 per cent (at the Asian Games) to 57 per cent (at world championships).
Siobhan Haughey has enjoyed a stellar 18 months. Photo: Dickson Lee
