Athlete blames a lack of support and no guarantee of selection for the Olympics
With her Olympic dreams firmly behind her, Hong Kong's leading female triathlete Claire Murray will depart for Hawaii today looking ahead to next Sunday's Ironman World Championship.
Given the choice of choosing between investing the next three years trying to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, or taking part in Ironman events, Murray chose the latter.
And she hopes her decision will be justified when she comes up against the world's leading athletes in Hawaii in the gruelling long-distance event which features a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike followed by a marathon.
'Unfortunately the Hong Kong Triathlon Association does not support the Ironman category as they feel it will jeopardise preparation for the shorter Olympic distance,' she said.
'So I had to make a choice and I choose to go for the Ironman,' said Murray who last year fell short of qualifying for the Athens Olympics by two spots.