Chow Yun Fat runs marathon at age 70, donates all his assets to charity

Chow Yun Fat is still in good shape at the age of 70 - Photo: AFP

Chow Yun Fat is known as a monument of Hong Kong and Asian cinema with many memorable roles on screen. At the age of 70, the former film talent shows an extremely fresh image with a passion for marathon running (42.195km). Especially after he has donated most of his assets to charity activities.

Coincidental relationship

Few people know that "Phat Ca's" running journey began quite by accident. Like many people, his initial goal was to lose weight for his role in the movie "Do Thanh Phong Van 3".

At that time, his body was somewhat overweight. Chow Yun Fat started jogging and climbing every morning at Tai Mo Shan Park. His remarkable perseverance brought sweet results. He lost about 13.5 kg in just over half a year.

But more importantly than losing weight, he found joy and pleasure in every step of running. From a method to get back in shape, running gradually became an indispensable part of the Hong Kong talent's daily life.

"Before, my story was cinema, now it's marathons," he once shared. He maintains the habit of running every day, although not too fast or too far, but that regularity has created positive changes both physically and mentally.

Conquer many semi-professional tracks

Chow Yun Fat's running career doesn't stop at individual training sessions. In February 2023, he participated in the 10km race at the Hong Kong Marathon and finished with a time of 1 hour 3 minutes 58 seconds.

Chow Yun Fat at the marathon - Photo: 8DAYS

At that time, he was quite cautious when asked about trying his hand at the half marathon (21km) or marathon (42.195km), saying that 10km was his limit.

However, less than 10 months later in November 2023, the actor born in 1955 made fans burst into tears when he completed his first half marathon in Hong Kong with a time of 2 hours 27 minutes 56 seconds.

This is a memorable milestone, a testament to Chow Yun Fat's tireless efforts. Not stopping there, in January 2024, he continued to improve his personal record at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, completing the half marathon in 2 hours 26 minutes 8 seconds.

Recently, Chow Yun Fat has actively participated in many running competitions - Photo: Thepaper

Although he admits that he still has room for improvement and jokes that his wife will “deduct his pocket money” for not meeting his time target, Chow Yun Fat shows an admirable sportsmanship . He aims to complete a half marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes next year, and even jokingly said: “If I can complete a half marathon in two hours, I will consider running a marathon. If I train hard, I can do it at 90.”

He also compared himself to becoming "Hong Kong's Forrest Gump, running around the world ".

For Chow Yun Fat, running is more than just physical exercise. "Running is not just a lifestyle habit, but also an enjoyment," he said.

Despite wearing a simple running outfit, "Phat Ca" always stands out on the track with his bright smile and friendliness. He happily greets and waves to fans and fellow runners, creating an extremely warm atmosphere.

"It's not tiring running, but greeting people along the way is more tiring," he humorously shared.

Chow Yun Fat left Asian cinema fans with many memorable roles - Photo: PA

Not only running alone, Chow Yun Fat also inspires and invites many friends in the artist world such as Carina Lau, Alan Tam, and To Duc Wai to participate in sports and mountain climbing activities.

After a stellar film career and a decision to donate his fortune to charity, Chow Yun Fat is now continuing his life story with impressive marathon runs.

Donate 17,000 billion VND for charity

Chow Yun Fat was born on May 18, 1955 and is known as a monument of Hong Kong cinema. Growing up in a difficult family, having worked as a manual laborer when he was young, Chow Yun Fat still nurtured his passion for cinema.

During more than 40 years of dedication on screen, he left behind a huge legacy of films. He was evaluated by his colleagues as a person of rare virtue, personality, temperament, chivalry and humility.

He is famous for his roles in gangster action films such as Hero, The Legend of Zelda ... Chow Yun Fat also received the title of Best Actor in Hong Kong cinema three times.

In 2018, Chow Yun Fat shocked the world when he announced that he would donate about 17,000 billion VND to charity. This amount of money is the majority of his fortune earned in his artistic career.

THANH DINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chau-nhuan-phat-chay-marathon-o-tuoi-70-mang-het-gia-san-lam-tu-thien-20250524192318435.htm