Chun Hing Chan (; born 24 April 1981) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

former professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

. He specialised in cross-country mountain biking although he also participated in road races.

Early years

Chan was born on 24 April 1981 in British Hong Kong. He grew up in Fanling with his parents and five older siblings. Chan went to Kei San Secondary School, where he took up

downhill mountain biking Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including , and drops can be greater than . The rider ...

at Form 2. After graduating from the

Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) is one of the member institutions of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) offering vocational education to post-secondary students in Hong Kong through its nine campi located across the ter ...

, Chan trained

part-time Part-time can refer to: * Part-time job, a job that has fewer hours a week than a full-time job * Part-time student, a student, usually in higher education, who takes fewer course credits than a full-time student * Part Time Part Time (styliz ...

as a

road cyclist Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

and took up a job in the telecom industry for two years. In 2002 at the age of 21, Chan decided to quit his job and became a

full-time Full-time or Full Time may refer to: * Full-time job, employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer * Full-time mother, a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home * Full-time fat ...

athlete and turned his focus into cross-country mountain biking. Chan was coached by Jinkang Shen ().

Career

In his early professional years, Chan competed in both cross-country mountain biking and

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...

. Chan won

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

in the 2003 China National Mountain Bike Championship and also in the 2005 China National Road Cycling Championships. In 2006, Chan won

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

at the Asian Mountain Bike Championship, an event that he finished

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

in the subsequent three years (2007, 2008 and 2009). In 2007, Chan won a bronze medal in the individual road race 196 km event at the

Asian Cycling Championships The Asian Cycling Championships is an annual continental cycling championships for road bicycle racing and track cycling since 1963, exclusively for Asian cyclists selected by the national governing body (member nations of the Asian Cycling Confede ...

. Chan competed in the 2009 Chinese National Games and won a silver medal in cross-country mountain biking. This performance brought him to the fore and Chan blazed to

in the cross-country mountain bike race at the 16th Asian Games in 2010, crossing the finish line at 2 hours 11 minutes and 33 seconds and beating his main rival

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

rider Kohei Yamamoto. Chan's performance has impressed the Hong Kong cycling hierarchy, and he received the Hong Kong Potential Sports Stars Awards for 2010. In 2011, Chan won

in the China National Mountain Bike Championship, and he also received the Medal of Honour from the Hong Kong Government in 2011 for his outstanding achievements in international cycling competitions. Chan took part in the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He participated in the cross-country cycling race. Chan eventually finished in 38th place (out of 50 competitors) with a time of 1 hour 41 minutes and 59 seconds. Chan competed for Hong Kong at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

in the mountain biking cross-country race. He finished in 32nd place with a time of 1 hour 44 minutes and 41 seconds. He was the flag bearer for Hong Kong during the closing ceremony. Chan retired from racing after the 2016 Summer Olympics. Chan became a cycling coach after his retirement. He has also set up companies organising mountain bike racing competitions and

bicycle touring Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be ...

Personal life

Although Chan grew up on a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

, he is afraid of snakes. Chan married Sin Ying Leung (), a former

Hong Kong A1 Division Championship Hong Kong A1 Division Championship (), abbreviated as HKA1 and A1 Division, is the top division of men's basketball league in Hong Kong. Current clubs A total of ten teams contested in the 2021 season: * Eagles (飛鷹) * Eastern (東方) * ...

basketball player and former ATV sports news presenter, in 2012. As of 2016, the couple has one son together.

Major results

;2003 :1st Gold medal blank

Cross-country, China National Mountain Bike Championships ;2005 :1st Gold medal blank

Road race, China National Road Cycling Championships ;2006 :2nd Silver medal blank

Cross-country, Asian Mountain Bike Championships ;2007 :3rd Bronze medal blank

Cross-country, Asian Mountain Bike Championships :3rd Bronze medal blank

Road race,

;2008 :3rd Bronze medal blank

Cross-country, Asian Mountain Bike Championships ;2009 :3rd Bronze medal blank

Cross-country, Asian Mountain Bike Championships :2nd Silver medal blank

Cross-country,

Chinese National Games The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four yea ...

;2010 :1st Gold medal asia

Cross-country, Asian Games ;2011 :1st Gold medal blank

Cross-country, China National Mountain Bike Championships

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Chun Hing Living people 1981 births Hong Kong male cyclists Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Hong Kong Asian Games medalists in cycling Cyclists at the 2002 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2006 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2010 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Hong Kong Asian Games silver medalists for Hong Kong Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games