THE third and final leg of the popular adidas King of the Road series yesterday saw local favourites Cheung Man-ho and Chan Man-yee walk away with overall honours and a first prize of a trip to Sydney to compete in the famous City to Surf road race.
An otherwise impressive race, with most of the top local athletes and four invited runners among the 800 taking part, was marred by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association's (HKAAA) poor organisation.
There was a problem with the issuing of race numbers at the venue by the HKAAA staff, most of whom are volunteers, which resulted in the start being delayed for 30 minutes.
To give the event an international flavour, top athletes from Malaysia and the Philippines were invited to compete.
Unfortunately, top female Philippine runner, Enateda Sayro, failed to appear on the result sheet despite having crossed the finish line in third place in the women's race overall, and hence was left out of the prize award ceremony.
Also missed on the finish line and omitted from the award ceremony was top local veteran Yuko Gordon, hardly inconspicuous given her many years at the top of local women's athletics.
The race was dominated by top Malaysian M. Avumugam who completed the undulating course in humid conditions in a fast time of 32 minutes and six seconds. He was chased home by last year's King of the Road overall champion, Martin Peace, who clocked 32.38.