Angie Lam Becomes Hong Kong’s Fastest Woman Ever After Parents Bug Her About Retiring

The 27-year-old beat the original 100 meter sprint time of 11.73 seconds set by Chan Sau-ying’s 25-year-old record at the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

“Some people have said that this is an obsession, but I always believed that I would do it,” Lam said. “It is a record for everyone.”

Her time was the ninth-best overall out of 26 runners this past weekend. What made the record even more special was that she accomplished this feat on her birthday.

Lam had recurring problems with her Achilles tendon, creating a barrier to her progress. Despite the set-backs that she had suffered, Lam had come close to beating the record last April, when she clocked in 11.76 seconds at the Singapore Open in April last year.

Her parents had been worried about her training with her injuries, asking when she would retire, Lam said. She had promised she would do so after breaking the record.

Now that she has, she says she will continue to run despite the promise she made.

“There is no reason to let go,” Lam said.

The current men’s world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2009, while the women’s world record of 10.49 seconds set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 remains unbroken.