NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 Ming-Na Wen honoredRead

Article

Chow Yun-fat, 67, completes 6-mile Hong Kong run in 1 hour

Chow Yun-fat
via Vogue Hong Kong

    Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

    Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

    Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

    Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat participated in the 25th Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday.  

    The 67-year-old screen legend began the race — which, despite being called a marathon, was actually 10 kilometers (approximately 6 miles) — at 5:40 a.m. and completed the race in 1:03:58.

    Despite the dreary weather, Chow placed in the top 20% of runners in the event. His record was a result of rigorous training with a coach for over a year

    “The coach told me not to run too fast as there is a slope ahead,” Chow explained. “So I jogged slowly initially and conserved my energy so I could speed up towards the end of the race.”

    Chow, who is also known as “Fat Gor” (“Big Brother Fat” in Cantonese), also took part in a cross-country race in December and plans to run the race again in 2024.

    Although Chow didn’t finish in first place, he was quickly overwhelmed by eager fans and media outlets after the approximately 6-mile run. 

    One fan who greeted him was boy band Error member Poki Ng, who shared a photo on Instagram with the caption: “Touched by Fat Gor.”

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by PØK1 吳保錡 (@k_p0k1)

    Other celebrities that joined the annual marathon were boxer Rex Tso Sing-yu, actor Sisley Choi, actor Dickson Yu, model Inez Leong and more.

    The marathon is only one of Hong Kong’s 250 “mega events” meant to signify the city’s return to normalcy after the pandemic. 

    Although the number of participants is usually over 70,000, this year’s event saw 37,000 runners out of over 50,000 applications.

    The winners of the 2023 marathon were Philimon Kiptoo Kichumba from Kenya and Fantu Eticha Jimma from Ethiopia. Local runners who successfully finished the marathon within three hours were awarded with 10,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $1,274). 

    Chow is a renowned actor known for his roles in John Woo films, such as “A Better Tomorrow” and “The Killer.” The actor is most known in the U.S. for his role as Li Mu-bai in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and as Sao Feng in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

    Support our Journalism with a Contribution

    Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

    Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

    However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

    We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

    Support NextShark

    Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal