Asian Games postponement prompts Mother’s Day rethink over plan for second child for Hong Kong marathon runner Yiu
- Christy Yiu and husband Chan Ka-ho had been waiting until after the multi-sport event in September to add to their family
- But Friday’s announcement that the Games were being delayed until next year has sparked a change of heart
Christy Yiu Kit-ching had been putting off having a second child to pursue her dreams of competing at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but on Mother’s Day the Hong Kong marathon runner announced she was abandoning that plan.
With the multi-sport event now postponed indefinitely because of the raging Covid-19 outbreak in parts of mainland China, Yiu said on Sunday the uncertainty of when the Games might eventually take place had prompted a change of heart.
The 34-year-old Hong Kong marathon record holder had wanted to compete in her maiden Asian Games, but acknowledged that when it came to having a second child, time was not on her side.
“I had planned to have a child after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but then I decided to compete in the 2022 Asian Games and then have the baby,” said Yiu, who is married to fellow athlete Chan Ka-ho.
“I’m not young any more, and Ka-ho is four years older than me, we both want to have two children, so we don’t have much time to wait. I don’t think the Asian Games will be postponed by three months, and I would be waiting for nothing if the Asian Games are eventually cancelled.”
The couple, who married in 2014, already have a daughter, Chan Yiu, who is four years old.
Christy Yiu, who competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but just missed out on a spot in the Hong Kong for last summer’s Games in Tokyo, said the Covid-19 restrictions still in force also played a part in her decision.
