Trailblazer Wyan Chow becomes fastest woman in 100km Hong Kong race
Wyan Chow became the fastest woman to complete the Oxfam Trailwalker, finishing in 12 hours 52 minutes and 26 seconds as part of Team 2XU UFO.
Hong Kong policewoman Wyan Chow Pui-yan became the fastest woman to complete the Oxfam Trailwalker last night, finishing in 12 hours 52 minutes and 26 seconds as part of Team 2XU UFO.
Chow and teammates Tsang Chun-kit, Thomas Lam and S. K. Tang are now the beaming mixed team record-holders over the gruelling 100km course, beating the previous record by a little over 21 minutes to record a fourth place finish overall.
“I have great teammates and a great support team – this is the only reason why I made it,” said 37-year-old Chow.
Chow only got the call up to the team a week ago. She had originally planned to race with Team S15 HKUST MBAAA Speed Ladies – eventual female winners in 15 hours 54 minutes. But when Team UFO’s original female teammate, Leung Ying-suet, was forced to pull out over injury, they were on the scout for a strong woman to help claim the record.
“We always had the target of breaking the record, maybe by a few minutes. But when we passed the halfway mark and checked our status, we decided to try and break 13 hours,” Chow said.
The team were impressed with Chow’s blistering pace on the challenging trails. “Wyan is a strong girl. When we invited her to be our teammate, of course we had the confidence that she could finish within the target time and break the record, but we were amazed she could be that fast,” said teammate Lam.
The previous mixed team record of 13 hours 14 minutes, set by S38 Hoka One One – 2XU in 2011, included two local women, Jeanette Holmes-Thompson and Claire Price.
