Raymond and his wife, Mo-ching, both worked as a Core Volunteer for the 2007 Good Luck Beijing Equestrian Event as well as the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events, while their 21 year-old daughter, Tania, earlier took part in Olympic Torch Relay in Hong Kong, and represented Hong Kong at the Triathlon Event in the Beijing Olympics - the first time a Hong Kong female triathlete has ever taken part in such an event in the Olympics.

For the Mak family, their association with the Beijing Olympics is a dream that has come true. Being enthusiastic athletes, Raymond and his wife have always dreamed of helping to promote the spirit of the Olympics.

"It's a great honour for my whole family to be able to associate with the Beijing Olympics in different capacities!" said Raymond.

The couple has a great passion for sports, and sees sports as a great way to serve the community by grooming and moulding the characters of young people. For a long time in the past, they have been very active in the local athletic fields both as an athlete and a coach.

Promoting sports in Hong Kong

Raymond is no stranger to the international sports arena as a Hong Kong representative, having participated in the Olympics, Paralympics, and the Asian Games in different capacities. He took part in the Asian Games in Beijing in 1990 as an athletic coach, the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992 as manager of an athletic team, and the Paralympics in New York as an athletic coach.

As a young athlete, Raymond's wife, Mo-ching, was a well-known sprinter in Hong Kong, having held Hong Kong's old records for 100 and 200 metres sprints. In the early 70's she clinched the Hong Kong Best Woman Athlete title. Since retiring from a College of Education, forebearer of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, as a physical education lecturer, Mo-ching has been actively helping to promote local sports as a volunteer.

With her athletic background, she, together with Raymond, has made a contribution to the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events as a Core Volunteer.

Making the grade in swimming

As she grew up, Tania became a very active member of the Kowloon City Junior Police Call, and received the Gold Award of the Hong Kong Award for Young People. With her parents' support and encouragement, she later took part in the junior event of the Asian Aquathlon in Singapore, grabbing a silver medal. Encouraged by this breakthrough achievement, Tania tried hard to prove her potentials in the tougher triathlon, and subsequently held the Hong Kong Best Female Triathlete for five years.

In the Asian Games in Doha in 2006, Tania was one of the two female athletes representing Hong Kong at the triathlon event, grabbing the sixth place. Encouraged by this success, Tania set the Beijing Olympics as her ultimate goal. After taking part in training and ranking races in China, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Spain, Canada and Korea over the past two years, she finally qualified as Hong Kong's first female triathlon representative in the Olympics.

In Raymond's views, her daughter, though not having won any medal in Beijing, has benefited in terms of exposure to sport cultures, meeting world-class athletes and gaining great experience. "It's a dream for every athlete to take part in the Olympics and compete with sport elites around the world. This dream has come true for Tania and she has become more determined and perseverant in her bid to make the grade in triathlon," said Raymond.

Since returning to the Chinese University to continue her studies in psychology, Tania has been sharing her experiences in the Beijing Olympics with her peers in a bid to help promote sports among young people.

For the short-term, she has set her sights on next year's All China Games, but the London Olympics is her ultimate goal, for which she will train hard for the next four years.

Tania with her coach and parents in Beijing

Tania trains to a peak of physical fitness in Beijing