IN IT TO WIN IT

Hong Kong freestyle swimmer Ian Ho, whose Instagram handle @Amphlb_ian playfully alludes to his aquatic prowess, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and won silver in the men's 50 metres freestyle at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. This month, he will represent Hong Kong at the Paris Olympics. He talks to Tatler about making Hong Kong proud, life as a student and professional athlete-and why relaxing is the way forward

- Tara Sobti

“I started going to the pool with my dad at a very early age. He taught me and my sisters how to swim at our local aquatic centre,” says Hong Kong swimmer Ian Ho. “I still have memories of him teaching me to swim. He would take us to the section of the pool where we couldn’t touch the bottom—and let go.”

Today Ho is a decorated athlete, having won a silver medal in the men’s 50-metre freestyle at the 2023 Asian Games—a moment he is incredibly proud of. “It was my first international medal. I felt extremely happy to have been able to make Hong Kong proud. A lot of my friends and family were watching on TV, along with Hong Kong people too. I’m glad I could share this special moment with them.”

Ho was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia to a physics professor father and a piano teacher mother. Though he didn’t grow up in the SAR, he did train in the city with the Hong Kong team for two years at the height of Covid-19 when borders were closed. Ho qualified for the Hong Kong Olympic team and represented the city in Tokyo, swimming freestyle in the men’s 50-metre and 100-metre events. “I still feel a strong connection with Hong Kong, and after representing Hong Kong at the Olympics and Asian Games, I am always overwhelmed by the support I feel from the people of this city,” he says.