That Girl: Camille Cheng, Three-Time Olympic Swimmer And Mental Health Advocate

Ahead of her talk at TEDxTinHauWomen, Camille Cheng spoke to us about her evolution as a competitive swimmer, her struggles with mental health, starting a charity with her teammates and representing Hong Kong on a world stage.

A three-time Olympic swimmer and seven-time Asian Games medalist, Hong Kong swimmer Camille Cheng is not just a champion in the pool; she’s a fierce trailblazer, role model and mental health advocate. Having recently competed in the Paris Olympics while growing her charity Mind The Waves and preparing for her talk at TEDxTinHauWomen, she’s proven that hard work and passion can make waves in sports and beyond.

Can you tell me a little about yourself, such as your background and your connection to Hong Kong?

Hi! I’m Camille, I’m a three-time Olympic swimmer (competing in Rio, Tokyo and Paris!) with a background in psychology. Outside of the pool, I’ve always been interested in people — and as an athlete, in understanding the power of the mind. I was born in HK and raised between here and Beijing, then attended university in the US for swimming. I’ve been back in Hong Kong for about nine years now and love it!   

Before we get into your life and career, I wanted to ask you some rapid-fire questions about Hong Kong. What are some of your favourite memories of the city? Favourite places to eat? Favourite hang-out spots and places to swim?

That’s so hard! My favourite memory is definitely one from childhood, as every Sunday my family and I would hike up to The Peak together and get an ice cream as a little reward. When my sisters were younger, my dad would push them up in a stroller, so it was really special to watch them grow up and begin walking themselves. 

For my favourite places to eat, I don’t think you can beat a Hong Kong-style breakfast. A HK milk tea is the first thing that I want when I get back to the city and the last thing that I’ll have at the airport! Other favourites are going swimming at beaches in Sai Kung or Shek O. I’m definitely a beach girl. 

What first drew you to swimming, and how has your relationship to the sport evolved since?

I grew up swimming everyday after school, it was just something that I have always naturally gravitated towards and that I happened to be good at! I was incredibly shy as a young girl, but I distinctly remember trying to race some older boys in the pool, which was so out of character for me. So, swimming brought out a different side of me, a competitiveness that I didn’t even know I had. As for how my relationship to the sport has evolved, I’d say that as time has gone on, I’ve realised that it’s not just about the performance. 

Performing competitively requires significant sacrifice. What drove you to pursue professional swimming?

It was never an official plan of mine to become a professional athlete, rather this career organically developed. At first it was just a sport that I was good at, then I realised I could go to university for it, then compete on a world stage, and so on. There are always people who will make comments or try and pressure you to perform or compete a certain way, but I learned quite quickly that if I was going to pursue this, it had to be for me. So, I feel really grateful for how this journey has evolved and the opportunities it has opened up for me. Like any career, there are ups and downs — and it’s not one I can do forever, so I am always trying to be as present as possible, to cherish these moments as they occur. 

You have spoken candidly about the struggles of being a mixed-race athlete. Can you tell us more about how that has impacted you, personally and professionally?

Reflecting on that, a lot of my struggles with my identity stemmed from me being self-critical. For a long time, I felt a certain sense of shame about my relationship to Hong Kong, as I don’t speak the local language. I questioned how that would be perceived by others and wondered if I was entitled to represent a city where I couldn’t fully communicate. But in reality, everyone has fully embraced me (especially my teammates), and even expressed their pride that I am representing HK. So, in a way, I had to overcome those insecurities in myself. I know what Hong Kong means to me, and that’s what’s most important at the end of the day.

And what has it meant to you to represent Hong Kong on a world stage?

It’s been a journey, for sure, but it’s one that makes me so proud. This is a small city, but we have incredible athletes, and I think we’ve proven that. It’s also an incredible opportunity to be an ambassador for HK, because I truly love this city and feel excited about sharing my love for it. I meet people from all over the world, so having that mutual exchange of culture is also really special. 

You founded the mental-health organisation Mind the Waves with your teammates Stephanie Au and Jamie Yeung in 2023. What led the three of you to launch this project?

When I moved back to HK, I realised that I was ‘going through it,’ so to speak. I wanted to explore that in terms of my own struggles, but I also know that so many people were experiencing similar feelings during the pandemic, whether that was loneliness, self doubt or generally questioning the path they are on. I could see that in the questions people asked me — they were never about how someone could swim faster or perform better athletically, but about motivation and stress, or balancing academics and swimming. These were issues that I had to navigate when I was younger, too. 

So, while I had been wanting to begin a project like this for a long time, I wasn’t sure how to dive into it. Later, I had a conversation with my teammates — actually, at the Tokyo Olympics! — about our struggles with mental health, and how we wanted to do something outside the pool, together, to try and break the stigma around mental health. It meant a lot to me to start a project like this with my teammates, as a kind of group passion project.  

What has it been like for you to advocate for wellness and mental health, particularly for young people?

It’s been such a rewarding journey to watch Mind The Waves take on a life of its own. It’s also been interesting to have others begin to see me as a mental health advocate, as I’ve always been really open and candid with my struggles. But I think having this charity provides a kind of officialness to that, so people feel more comfortable asking me questions about mental health, which is incredible. 

Something really meaningful happened at our charity’s Self-Care Fair: someone came up to me and expressed how grateful they were for the work that I was doing, how I had inspired them to begin seeing a therapist and how that had changed their life. You know, that has nothing to do with swimming, but having that platform has allowed me to share a message that is deeply personal to me.

You gave a TED Talk on the journey to becoming an Olympian. What is one thing you hope listeners took away from your talk?

That you are in charge of how you define success. Your relationship with success is your own, and it’s built up by resilience and connection. 

It can be difficult to recognise our accomplishments in real time. How do you think Little Camille would feel looking at you now, as an Olympian and seven-time Asian Games medalist, preparing to give a TED Talk?

Part of my TED Talk is actually how I should talk to myself about my achievements! Celebrating myself has taken a long time to embrace, but I know that Little Me would be so proud of everything I have accomplished — not just the swimming, but what the swimming has opened doors to. To have built a community, to be giving a TED Talk, to have a platform to share my story, I know she’d be proud of all of these things. 

How do you feel about the future?

 After the Olympics, there’s always a period of reflection. It’s a four-year cycle, so it’s a huge commitment, physically, mentally, emotionally. I know what it takes to get there, and I have to be honest with myself if that’s something I want to commit to. Right now, I’m still weighing out those options while focusing on Mind The Waves, as well as venturing into and learning more about sports psychology. I’m so grateful that I’m able to do not just one, but two things that I love, and I’m excited for what the future holds, even if I’m not exactly sure what it looks like.