A ‘Personal Best’ Is Just the Beginning

There are some moments in life that can truly be called turning points, as clichéd as that may sound. For Jane Karlsson, one such moment happened at an Interschool Athletics Meet in 2023. She was 16 at the time, and broke both the interschool record as well as the U20 400m record, with a time of 56’27.

“Before that race, running was mostly just a hobby for me,” says Jane, a Year 2 undergraduate student studying in the BBA programme of the HKU Business School, who joined HKU through the Top Athletes Direct Admission Scheme (TADAS) as a recipient of the “HKU Lee Shau Kee Top Athletes Scholarship”.

At the time, she had discussed the possibility of breaking the interschool record with her coaches and set it as her main goal, but she never expected her ‘personal best’ to also shatter a Hong Kong record in the process. Doing so catapulted her onto a bigger stage where suddenly she had the chance to participate in international competitions. “Breaking the U20 record when I was only 16 made me realise that I had a lot of potential in the sport and could achieve more than I’d ever dreamed of,” she says. “I felt a great sense of anticipation at this and was excited to continue to do my best and see what the future would bring.”

She knows well why her sport of choice, the 400m race in track and field, is often described as a mix of sweet and sour. “The moment that feels most enjoyable is around 100m into the race, when I’m coming out of the first curve,” she notes. “At this point I’ve reached cruising pace and usually run in a relaxed manner. I really enjoy the sensation of my muscles working together to produce a coordinated and smooth motion, as it feels like I’m fully in my element.”

“On the other hand, the final 100m of the race is incredibly taxing both mentally and physically,” she adds. “Lactic acid takes a heavy toll on my limbs and I want more than anything to stop, yet I must push myself to my limit in order to have a chance to win.”

To Jane, the renowned and now retired American track and field athlete Sanya Richards-Ross has always been a major inspiration. “First of all, Sanya impressively obtained a cumulative 4.0 GPA at her time at university while simultaneously being named the USA Track And Field Youth Athlete of the Year. Her ability to excel both on the track and in academics motivated me to similarly strive for excellence in both aspects of my life,” Jane says.

Having joined HKU through TADAS, she now has the support to be able to pursue her academic endeavours alongside her athletic ones. She credits her academic advisor for having helped her clear up any confusion and concerns about course selection and scheduling that she had at the start of her first semester.

“The flexibility of my class schedule allows me to arrange classes around my training times, while the option to extend my duration of study and take fewer courses per semester lessens my workload and ensures that I can keep a proper balance between training and academics while maintaining high standards in both,” she explains.

Jetting out of Hong Kong for international sports meets might seem like a glamorous life for a university student, but it can actually be quite stressful if you also have course requirements to fulfil. “When I was unable to be in class in-person due to overseas competitions, my professors were all very accommodating and sent me the relevant course materials and lecture recordings for me to study,” she says. “Last semester, after I told one of my professors that I had to compete in the National Games, he not only sent me all the materials, but also wished me good luck and congratulated me on doing well in the course so far, which I found really encouraging and appreciated quite a lot!”

“University life has taught me the importance of planning,” Jane says, reflecting on what university life has changed about how she thinks as an athlete. “I have to plan my class schedule around training and my study schedule around competitions, and I realised I can also apply this skill to athletics. In an athletic season, there are a lot of different stages where I’m required to be at varying levels of fitness and my training programme is adjusted to meet these levels, anticipating where my fitness is expected to peak during a major race,” she says.

When she thinks about her original motivations to become a full-time athlete, she observes that HKU had played an unexpected and pivotal role. “Reaching the Olympics was always my childhood dream, and my relative success in the early years gave me confidence towards achieving this dream. So once I entered university, I made the decision to become a full-time athlete,” she says. “I have already applied and been approved as a full-time athlete and intend to take up residence at the Hong Kong Sports Institute starting from the next academic year. So the support from HKU and the Institute are bringing me closer to making my dream a reality.”

And what about life after competitive athletics? “I would like to be an inspiration to others who also want to become a full-time track and field athlete, especially those who run 400m. The 400m is a relatively less developed event in Hong Kong, so I hope by raising the standards of this event, I can inspire young athletes to follow my path and further develop Hong Kong’s 400m talent pool,” she says.

“Another impact I want to make is to inspire those who have hit a bottleneck like I have in the past, to show them that no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is, if you don’t give up on yourself then you’ll reach your goal and ‘personal best’ eventually!”