Athletics

For a neurodivergent, queer Chinese-American with an unconventional upbringing, athletic pursuits have served as an unexpected “safe place” to experience personal growth, self-discovery, and shared hardships in communion with others.

Short-track speedskating (2001-2007, 2014-2015) – Trained between 2001-2006 in Long Beach, California, and the Olympic Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Between 2014-2015, after recovering from 5 years of chronic fatigue, chased Olympic dreams as a soon-to-be “aged out” short-track speedskater, training under former U.S. Olympic coach Wilma Boomstra, coach to JR Celski, Eddy Alvarez, Jordan Malone, Jeff Simon, and several other U.S. Olympic and U.S. World Team members. A traumatic sacroiliac injury ended the pursuit.

Bike Ride Across America (2006) – In the summer of 2006, after junior year in high school, completed a 3,800-mile bicycle ride from West Coast (San Francisco, CA) to East Coast (Virginia Beach, VA) of the contiguous United States with a group of 6 other high school students and 3 adult chaperones. Raised $2000 for children’s cancer charity, Camp Quality.

Ironman Triathlon (2009) – Completed a full-distance, 140.6-mile Ironman triathlon, comprising 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of bicycling, and 26.2 miles of running, in Guerneville, CA at Vineman 2009.

Powerlifting (2016-2019, 2022-present) – Calculated 1 rep maxes: 2.2x bodyweight deadlift, 1.8x bodyweight squat, 1.2x bodyweight bench.