Superintendent of School of Professional Development of the Police College Gigi Wong joined the 20th World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) in Canada last month. It was the first time she represented the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) in WPFG. Despite joining six races within just eight days, Gigi got five gold and one silver medals and broke WPFG’s age-group records of the 10km and 5 000m races respectively. While her age is over 50, she still challenges herself continuously. “Not being a fast racer though, I am a very happy runner who loves running very much.”

Her first race came half marathon, the most physically demanding event. Gigi admitted that she was entangled in whether she should give up this event for better chances of winning the other five races. However, she finally decided to take part in the race because she did not want to miss the opportunity to showcase HKPF’s positive image to foreign citizens along the way with the sportswear of HKPF that she was wearing. Commissioner Siu Chak-yee waited at the finish line to cheer her and other athletes on, which encouraged her very much indeed. Eventually, she won the gold medal.

Gigi said that her excellent result in this year’s WPFG was beyond her imagination. Two years ago, she fractured her foot in an accident and had to move around in a wheelchair. “Supported with crutches, I couldn’t even walk for ten metres.” She once worried that her long-distance running career would be forced to terminate. Fortunately, she managed to race again after recuperating for half a year. “This accident has taught me to cherish what I have. I will keep running as long as I can, come rain or shine.”

In her Force career of nearly 31 years, Gigi has been stationed in Operations New Territories South and Airport District. In spite of her heavy duties, she has been able to strike a balance among her career, family and running. One way to achieve this is to integrate various tasks. For example, when stationed in Airport District, she would get off at Lantau Link Bus-bus Interchange and run 18km to work. The persistence gives her running results continuous breakthrough — she now runs faster than she did at a younger age. “When I am in a race in recent years, instead of looking at the watch, I simply ‘talk to my body’, feeling the state of my body, mastering my personal speed and pursuing breakthroughs of myself so that I can enjoy more fun of running.”

Gigi believes that running, policing work and even life share one common pivot — regardless of the difficulties encountered, as long as we persevere to the end and face up to the challenges, we will overcome them. When obstacles are cleared, the exhausting experiences will become footsteps towards success.