Gary Leung (Marathon)

Life competitions are not restricted by declining eyesight – Gary Leung

What if we can see nothing except light and dimness, does it mean we have lost everything? For Gary Leung, the answer is no.

45-year-old Gary Leung is the champion athlete of HKBSF.  With injuries, he finished the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon in 3 hours 13 minutes this year which was his best record. Two months before the event, he also took part in the International Marathon in California. In spite of the rainy weather, low temperature (minus three degree) and jet lag, he and his sighted guide still won first runner-up in the visually handicapped group and became the first visually impaired athlete in Hong Kong who won an international award.

Several days before the Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong, his foot was injured. However, he still did his best in the competition. Gary said: “once I start running, I want to go for it in full force.  I do not want to let my coach and sighted guide down.”

For Gary, running is simply not a story between himself and his running shoes but an attachment between the guiding string, sighted guide and the coach. Due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, Gary had already been troubled by night blindness when he was a child.  In the year 2009, his eye sight had deteriorated to such an extent that he could only differentiate light and dimness, which made him so depressed.  He even lost confidence in walking up and down stairs.  He felt like he had lost his future, and his goal in life.

When first joined the marathon team of HKBSF, Gary just thought that it was a better option than staying at home.  However, he was moved by the coach and sighted guide runner who took time after work to lead him to run.  “I appreciated their efforts, and I wanted to be better”, he said.  At first, he was panting after running a short distance.  Little by little, he improved himself until he could finish 10-km.  He then realized that he could perform well with others’ assistance.

 “Though I need to rely on others’ visual guidance, I am not worse than the sighted athletes.  The visually impaired group also requires running 42 km which is the same as the sighted runners” he said proudly. In addition, he enjoyed the trust developed between the sighted guide and himself. “As long as he tells me to feel free and run, I can relax and run freely”, he said, “Human will become machine without mutual trust.”

Gary can only differentiate light and dimness.  However, since on the running track, he has gained honour, friendship, regained his lost confidence and a goal to make progress.  He hopes to keep exercising, his target was to complete each km in ten seconds less so as to prepare himself to participate in the Paralympics held in Brazil in 2016.