Jacky Leung relishes challenge of Asian Skyrunning Championships
Hong Kong runner will be flying the Hong Kong flag in December as he faces a world-class field headed by world women’s champion Caroline Chaverot
Jacky Leung Chun-keung will be flying the Hong Kong flag as he contests a world-class international field for the second running of the Asian Skyrunning Championships in December.
The talented Salomon team runner will need to capitalise on his home turf advantage as Lantau hosts this year’s championships, which comprises of the MSIG Lantau VK (vertical kilometre) and the MSIG Lantau 50 (includes a 27km SkyRace and a 50km Ultra SkyMarathon) starting on Friday, December 2.
Tangled with a technical trail and home to Lantau Peak (934 metres) and Sunset Peak (898m), the second and third highest peaks respectively in Hong Kong, Lantau will most definitely challenge even the highest calibre athletes.
But Leung, who will be running shoulders with some of the world’s top skyrunners, including women’s world champion, France’s Caroline Chaverot, said he was looking forward to the massive challenge ahead.
“The course is technical for an international skyrunning race,” says Leung. “The experience of joining Matterhorn Ultraks in Zermatt, Switzerland gave me insights about fast uphill and downhill ability along technical trails at high altitude. For the HK MSIG series, there is a mixture of terrain including soft trails, rocky trails, stairs and pavement. Athletes need to be all-rounded and skilled on running on different kinds of terrain.”