Asia’s fastest sprinter Su Bingtian reveals how Hong Kong Paralympian William So and writer Louis Cha ‘Jin Yong’ inspired him to success
- ‘God Su’, the first Asian-born athlete to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds, says William So is the ‘true god’ of the track
- Sprinter says he ‘deeply believes in the phrase, ‘In the world of kung fu, speed defines the winner’ after reading the works of Louis Cha ‘Jin Yong’
Asia’s fastest-ever sprinter Su Bingtian has revealed he was inspired to chase his dreams by two legendary Hongkongers, Paralympian William So Wa-wai and novelist Louis Cha “Jin Yong”.
Hailed as “God Su” by fans, the first Asian-born athlete to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m told a Polytechnic University audience on Sunday that he considered Hong Kong sprinter So to be the “true god” of the track.
“I read The Smiling, Proud Wanderer and Demigods and Semi-Devils, so I deeply believe in the phrase, ‘In the world of kung fu, speed defines the winner’,” he said.
Su this year became the first Chinese runner to reach an Olympics 100m final, setting an Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Games.
“After the competition, Chinese netizens wanted to express their support and love and gave me the name ‘God Su’, but in my heart the true ‘god’ is Hongkonger [William] So Wa-wai,” he told a meet-and-greet session at PolyU.
