10 flying territory's flag in Lion City
TEN of Hong Kong's top athletes will compete in this weekend's 56th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships which will be held at the Serangoon Road Stadium today and tomorrow.
The Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) has selected a team of six athletes while Watson's Athletic Club (WAC) has entered a smaller squad of four for the championships including international-class triple jumper Ma Yuet and HKAAA 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres record holder Roberto De Vido who both struck gold in Singapore a year ago.
Ma certainly has the big time temperament with his most recent gold medal success coming in the Philippines Open Championships with a leap of 15.55 metres recorded in very wet conditions.
Ma is also Hong Kong record holder for the event with a leap of 16.12 metres.
With the men's 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres just 10 minutes apart, middle distance runner De Vido has opted to run the longer race in Singapore.
''My training has been geared toward 5,000 metres running so I dropped the 1,500 metres even though I won that event in Singapore last year,'' he said.
Watson's Elite Squad's record-breaking high jumper Chang Yu-ho is representing the HKAAA and will have his final international competition before next month's Asian Games.
Chang set a Hong Kong record at a pre-Commonwealth Games meet held at Kamloops, British Columbia, with a height of 2.15 metres.
