Samuel Ip Seng Tou is dedicated to his sport, so much so that he trains twice a day and has just come back from six weeks training in Hunan, where he trained twice a day on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and once a day the rest of the week.

This dedication to running has seen him break the Macau 5,000 metre Group A record which had stood for nine years – and he is still only 17. On top of which he represents Macau in international youth chess championships.

Ip sat down with MPD Weekender earlier this week in Avenida Ouvidor do Arriaga to talk about his passion, dedication and hopes for the future in his sport of choice.

Ip said that he started running in P4 but stopped in F1 as he preferred to play football, but all that changed during the school sports day when he was in F3. “I won the race in the school sports day and changed my focus back to running,” he said.

Samuel Ip Seng Tou crosses the line as he breaks the nine-year 5,000 metre record at the Inter-school competition earlier this year at Macau Stadium.

Samuel Ip Seng Tou (left) with his school coach after breaking the 5,000 metre record in Macau Stadium. Photos provided by Samuel Ip Seng Tou

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