KONG, Man-yi Yvette

Watching the 2000 Sydney Olympics broadcast at 7 years old ignited a near 20-year competitive journey for Yvette, who started learning swimming when she was 3 and was eventually dubbed as the “Hong Kong Queen of Breaststroke” by the media for her eminence. 

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Yvette broke the Hong Kong record in the 100 meters breaststroke at the tender age of 13 in 2006. At career high, she earned all 6 Hong Kong breaststroke records and world ranked 21st in her best event. She was also one of the first ever swimmers in the city to attain the Olympic automatic qualification standard on her way to compete in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. A fierce relay-swimmer, Yvette consistently performed critical splits in historic relay performances, including medal performances in East-Asian Games (2009 and 2013), Asian Games (2014), and the first-ever qualification for an Olympic relay event (2016) for Hong Kong.

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Between her first Hong Kong record in 2006 and last international appearance in 2018, she relentlessly pushed the city’s breaststroke bar to a new height with her dominating streak of records, some of which still stand today. Most notably, she substantially lowered the 100 meters breaststroke record from a local standard (1’13.75) to a world class standard (1’07.69), modeling success for younger swimmers. 

Yvette swam collegiately for the University of California, Berkeley in the United States, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science and won two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team titles. After graduation, she moved to trained at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where she trained to reach the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and was later awarded Master of Science, Performance Psychology. 

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The journey from being a young standout to a resilient veteran in the pool had its triumphs and challenges. Yvette narrowly missed out the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics only to pick up the importance of mental health. Since 2017, she has been serving the mental health charity, Mind Hong Kong, as a founding board member. Today, Mind Hong Kong leads the city and beyond in the destigmatization of mental health.

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It is her warmth, depth, and character that registered in the hearts of the public and made her a respected figure. As a lifelong sportswoman, Yvette continues to embody and influence the virtue of sports in many avenues, such as live commentary, charity swim sessions, and public speaking. 

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Fluid as water beyond the pool, Yvette is an action-packed visionary, holistic and astute intellectual, and emerging creative who is only starting to tap into her boundless reservoir.