Youngster Chan Ka-ho beat the chilly weather and 2,000 rivals to clinch the Mizuno Hong Kong Half Marathon title in Tai Mei Tuk, Tai Po, yesterday morning.
The 21-year-old, who represented Hong Kong at the Asian Cross Country Championships last year, pulled away from Mark Williams in the final stages to cross the finish line in one hour, 12 minutes and two seconds. Williams, a dominant force in local road races, was 49 seconds behind, while third place went to Wong Wang-kuen, who clocked 1:13:01.
'I am really pleased with my performance today as I bettered my personal best by more than two minutes,' said Chan, who works as a part-time athletics coach and life guard. 'The weather and course were just perfect.'
The women's category was won by veteran Toh So-liang, who was also crowned masters champions with a time of 1:23:28. It was a case of double happiness for the Toh family after her husband, Li Ka-lun, came first in the men's masters category two event.
Second place in the women's overall standings went to Leung Yuen-fan (1:24:46), while Christine Bailey came third in 1:28:21.
Chan and a group of seven others broke away after 10km and the leading pack was reduced to four after 15km. With the finish in sight, Chan surged to win the 21.0975km race with a powerful sprint.
