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Chan Kin-wa

Marathon runner Christy Yiu Kit-ching will attempt to secure a second Olympic appearance when she tackles the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia on Sunday.
It will also be the 31-year-old’s first official marathon since setting a personal best of two hours, 36 minutes and 11 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which is still considerably slower than the. 2020 Tokyo Games qualification time of 2:29:30.
Yiu finishing off her preparations in Auckland, New Zealand, and will cross the Tasman Sea on Thursday.
“Training in Auckland is good preparation, better than I would have thought,” she said. “The weather here is cold and similar to that in Gold Coast. It’s too hot in Hong Kong and it would be very difficult to do high-volume training there.”

Yiu went to a training camp in Hokkaido, Japan, in early June before spending another two weeks in Auckland as the final build-up.
Hong Kong’s top long-distance runner, Yiu took a break after the Rio Games before giving birth to her daughter in April last year. Her husband, Chan Ka-ho, is also a well-known distance runner.
Yiu returned to training last summer and six months later she won the women’s half marathon in February’s Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon.
Her time of 1:16:29 was still shy of her Hong Kong record of 1:12:57 set before the Rio Olympics, but was encouraging in the light of her short build-up.
Yiu’s ultimate target is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathon, but when the IAAF announced the strict qualifying mark in March, it seemed a bridge too far.
Coach Shinetsu Murao, who guided Yiu to the Rio Olympics, said then it would be almost impossible for any Hong Kong runner to make it.
Hong Kong Marathon: Christy Yiu makes stunning return from pregnancy hiatus in half marathon

“The marathon entry standard for the Tokyo Games may be too high for me to reach just by one race,” said Yiu. “In fact, there are less than 40 female runners that are within that time zone. If I can’t achieve that, I may have to go through the ranking system to book a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics which has a total quota of 80 runners for the women’s marathon.”
The qualification rankings are calculated from a runner’s two best results; one must be in a marathon, but the other can come from a half marathon, 25K, or 30K run.
Yiu can also qualify by a top-10 finish at a World Marathon Major (Boston, New York City, Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago, or London marathons), or finish in the top five at an IAAF gold label marathon, such as the Hong Kong or Gold Coast Marathons. The qualification period will close on May 31, 2020.
Hot stuff: Christy Yiu Kit-ching beats the heat to run a PB but falls just short of Hong Kong’s marathon record

So far, no Hong Kong track and field athlete has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, which is one of the prerequisites for any tier A sport to stay at the Sports Institute’s elite programme.
Road walker Ching Siu-nga, is close to the qualifying mark in the women’s 20km race walk with a 1:32:20 Hong Kong record set in February. The result is slightly more than one minute behind the qualification mark of 1:31.


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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Distance ace Christy Yiu targets Gold Coast Marathon in bid to qualify for second Olympics

Christy Yiu Kit-ching with husband Chan Ka-ho after winning the women's half marathon at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in February. Photo: Nora Tam

(L to R) Chan Ming-tai, long jumper; and Christy Yiu Kit-ching, marathon runner, pose for a photograph in Fo Tan. 12JUL16 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Marathon: Christy Yiu makes stunning return from pregnancy hiatus in half marathon

Christy Yiu Kit-ching wins the women’s half marathon at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Photos: Nora Tam

Christy Yiu kit-Ching (Right) wins the women’s half marathon while her husband Chan Ka-ho (Left) came third in the men’s, at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. 17FEB19 SCMP / Nora Tam

Shuen Chun-kit (Centre) and Wong Tsz-to (Right) both finished the 10-kilometre race at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. 17FEB19 SCMP / Nora Tam

Hilda Choi Yan-yin wins the Women's 10km race of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. 17FEB19 SCMP / Nora Tam

Hong Kong star runner Christy Yiu gives marathon a miss to have first child between Olympic Games

Christy Yiu Kit-ching and Hard Tsui Chi-kin pose with reigning champions Letebrhan Haylay Gebreslasea and Mike Kiprotich Mutai ahead of the race. Photo: Press release

2 March 2004. Maggie Chan Roper with son Skylar at the HKSI in Sha Tin. Mandatory credit: Richard Castka/Sportpix International

Hong Kong Marathon 2017. Photo: PR

Road to Rio: I cried many times but I made the Olympics in the end, says Hong Kong marathon star Christy Yiu

Christy Yiu warms up with long jumper Chan Ming-tai as they meet the press at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Fo Tan on Tuesday. Photos: Jonathan Wong

(L to R) Chan Wai-yin, personal coach of Chan Ming-tai; Christy Yiu Kit-ching, marathon runner; Chan Ming-tai, long jumper; Fung Wang-tak, vice chairman in technical and competitions for the Hong Kong Amateur Athletics Association; Anthony Giorgi, head athletic coach of Hong Kong Sports Institute, pose for a photograph in Fo Tan. 12JUL16 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

(L to R) Christy Yiu Kit-ching, marathon runner; and Chan Ming-tai, long jumper; pose for a photograph in Fo Tan. 12JUL16 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Chan Ming-tai, long jumper, poses for a photograph in Fo Tan. 12JUL16 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Sport

Hong Kong

The Rio Olympian will run her first official marathon since the birth of her daughter last year
Away from Hong Kong’s heat, Yiu has been training in the cooler climate of New Zealand


The Rio Olympian will run her first official marathon since the birth of her daughter last year


Distance ace Christy Yiu targets Gold Coast Marathon in bid to qualify for second Olympics

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The Rio Olympian will run her first official marathon since the birth of her daughter last year Away from Hong Kong’s heat, Yiu has been training in the cooler climate of New Zealand

The Rio Olympian will run her first official marathon since the birth of her daughter last year

Away from Hong Kong’s heat, Yiu has been training in the cooler climate of New Zealand