She battled and overcame daunting mental health challenges during her career in the pool, but the Hong Kong swimmer turned academic and entrepreneur Yvette Kong Man-yi has said that “I look back and am thankful I went through all that”.

Now she is urging the athletes set to chase glory for the city in this month’s National Games to “soak it in and find a balance between enjoyment and performing”.

Kong eventually succeeded in that herself, completing an uplifting comeback when, after experiencing depression and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, she qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I’m trying to turn my experiences into a blessing for someone else,” said Kong, a staunch mental health advocate and founding board member of Mind Hong Kong.

Half a lifetime ago, the now 32-year-old Kong claimed four medals from the 2009 Asian Championships. She envisaged one day being an Olympic finalist, but would soon find herself struggling to manage soaring expectations. Her challenges accelerated following sub-par performances in 2010’s Asian Games and Youth Olympics.

After she missed the qualifying mark for the 2012 Olympics by 0.1 second, Kong stopped swimming altogether for three months.