Opinion | Left Field: This is the worst time for embattled triathlon to be feuding within its ranks
Facing dismissal from the elite training programme, the last thing the sport needs is a prolonged row fostering further setbacks
It is time to bury the hatchet. Nothing but bad will happen if the feud between the Hong Kong Triathlon Association and Andrew Wright continues. The real losers will be the athletes caught in the middle. Let's quickly recap some of the problems facing triathlon. The biggest one is it faces losing millions of dollars in support from the Sports Institute after failing to win a medal at the Asian Games in Incheon last month.
Triathlon was put on notice by the elite training academy, where it is an Elite A sport, that it could lose its privileged status if it didn't bring home a medal, which it subsequently failed to do. It now could find itself shown the door in April when the current four-year cycle of support ends.
Then we have Wright, a former Hong Kong representative who is now disillusioned with the way the sport is being administered. He saved it from being axed four years ago when he finished eighth - helped over the line by teammate Daniel Lee Chi-wo who waited so Wright could finish ahead of him - to secure funding for the period to March 2015.
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Four years ago, that eight-place finish at the Asian Games was sufficient to provide the final points for the nine-point benchmark triathlon needed to retain elite funding. Qualifying criteria have changed and now, on top of these nine points, sports also have to win a medal at the Asian Games, or qualify for the Olympics.
This last requirement was brought in two years ago, midway through the cycle and, more importantly for triathlon, when they had just put in place a new coaching team at the Sports Institute led by Patrick Kelly.
This now seems to be the defence of triathlon administrators, who say the focus of Kelly and company has been on development. The results reflect a robust youth programme resulting in a number of good results, including at last weekend's Asian Cup and Under-23 championships at Disneyland.
But the fact remains that the sport failed to medal at the Asian Games. Wright, now a private coach, says this is because of flawed policies and the way the association is run. His main gripe is that athletes who do not train at the HKSI have been prevented from representing Hong Kong.