“Should you be out here in such rough conditions?” is the kind of patronising comment women in outrigger canoeing still hear regularly – especially when they are part of a crew whose members are all above the age of 50.
“The boat doesn’t care about your gender. It only cares that you show up and put in 110 per cent effort,” says Eva Lind-Mallo, 53, who was on a Masters team of six Hong Kong women who raced at the World Distance Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last year.
“And in our ohana [family], we care that we show up for each other.”
The team, which recently returned with a silver medal from the Takapuna Beach Cup in New Zealand, symbolises a global movement finally seeing women’s sport move from the sidelines to the forefront.
The continued revolution of women and sport is one of the Global Wellness Summit’s top wellness trend predictions for 2026. Its report says that women’s sport has reached a long-awaited tipping point, with huge cultural, commercial, social and wellness impact.
“Female athletes have unprecedented visibility as competitors, founders and marketing powerhouses, while fandom, media coverage and grass roots participation surges worldwide,” the report says. “Welcome to a world of new leagues and women’s sports bars – while ‘regular’ women of all ages flock to strength training and competitive sport, reframing fitness from aesthetics to capability and longevity.”
Eva Lind-Mallo (left) and members of the women’s Masters 50 Hong Kong outrigger canoeing team are pictured at the World Distance Championship in Rio de Janeiro in 2025. Photo: Mihaela Tudo
