NG, Fenella Gar Loc

Having withstood a long international career spanning over 20 years, first as a swimmer and later as a rower, Fenella remains undoubtedly one of Hong Kong's most decorated and longest serving athletes, and only one of two Hong Kong Olympians who has represented Hong Kong in two different sports at the Olympic Games, as well as being the only athlete to medal at the Asian Games in two sports.

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Fenella was first enrolled in swimming lessons after a lifeguard mistook her for drowning at a hotel pool  when she was just a toddler. As it turned out it was fate and it soon became clear that Fenella had an affinity for water. Thus began her swimming journey at Hong Kong Country Club under Coach Harry Wright and within a few years by the age of 11 she found herself in the national swimming team, soon to be under the guidance of Head Coach David Haller. Her first dip into the world of Major Games was at the 1982 Asian and Commonwealth Games, which provided a good foundation and paved the way for her becoming crowned double Asian Swimming Champion in 1984 at the tender age of 15, striking gold in both the 200m and 400m freestyle and picking up relay medals in the process, making the young teen Hong Kong’s first ever Asian Champion in swimming. International success continued with a relay bronze medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. 

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Fenella took some time off University where she studied Chemical Engineering, then Actuarial Science in the UK, only to be drawn back to the water in 1993 to train alongside her younger sister Caroline. Under the guidance and tutelage of the then Head Coach Bill Sweetenham, Fenella, along with her compatriots Robyn Lamsam, Katie Lau and Vivian Lee, captured a highly sought-after silver medal in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.

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Ever competitive and always willing to take on a challenge, Fenella hung up her swimming goggles and decided to try out her prowess on top of the water as opposed to being in the water, following her HKSI strength coach Michael Tse, who had also just represented Hong Kong in rowing at the 1994 Games into the world of  rowing.  Due to her strong “aerobic engine” from her swimming days, she quickly started making ripples on the water and started turning heads. She was quickly invited to join the National squad by the rowing coaches of the Hong Kong Sports Institute.  Starting out in the Lightweight Double Sculls with teammate Ho Kim Fai, under Head Coach Chris Perry, Fenella started establishing herself as a contender not only on the water, but also on the indoor rowing machine.  After the disappointment of narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, with just over a year of experience in the boat, Fenella decided it was not yet time to give up and she decided to turn her attention to the Lightweight Single Sculls. Her hard work, persistence and determination to succeed paid off in 1997, when she became Hong Kong’s first rower to win a B-final at World Championship. The following year at the 1998 World Rowing Championships in Cologne, German, she once again stepped it up a notch by becoming HK’s first ever World Rowing Championship finalist, claiming 6th place. Despite starting rowing at a relatively late age, and having had to endure several health and injury set-backs during that time as well as completing a Masters degree in Finance, Fenella successfully picked up multiple Asian Games, East Asian Games and Asian Championship medals in just a few short years, before retiring from elite sport in 2000 following the Sydney Olympic Games. Aside from the glory of performing well in her sports, one of the greatest moments of pride for Fenella was when she was bestowed the honour of carrying the HKSAR flag at its debut appearance at an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

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As a lifelong sportswoman, Fenella continues to be involved in sport and spreads her knowledge to others as a coach in both swimming and triathlon, also briefly coaching swimming for the HK Triathlon National team. Fenella has continued to contribute to sport over the years, having served as President of the Hong Kong Triathlon Association, Executive member of the Asian Triathlon Federation, Facilitator on World Triathlon Development program, High Performance Committee member of the HK Rowing Association, plus involvement on various SF&OC and HKSAR Government sports-related committees. 

 

Sports runs in the family with partner Michael Tse, an Olympic and Asian Games rower; sister Caroline Ng, an Asian Games swimmer and niece Arabella Ng, Hong Kong’s first Olympic alpine skier and sole representative at the 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympics, where she became the second Ng to carry the HKSAR flag into and Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

 

Fenella is a Founding Member of the HK Olympians Association.