Tokyo 2020: running ace Christy Yiu Kit-ching targets top-five finish in Hong Kong Marathon to seal trip to Olympics
- Foot injury stops Yiu in her tracks, forcing her to pull out of December’s Asian Championships
- She needs an outstanding performance to ensure Tokyo Olympics qualification after breaking Hong Kong record in Gold Coast last year
Olympic hopeful Christy Yiu Kit-ching is planning to run the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon for the first time since 2016 after a foot injury forced her out of December’s Asian Championships in Dongguang, China.
Despite an impressive Gold Coast marathon result in July when the Rio Olympian shattered a 15-year-old Hong Kong record with a sixth place, Yiu is still searching for a second marathon result to ensure her appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
She had planned to complete the task at the Asian Championships but Yiu hurt the second metatarsal bone on her left foot a week before the event. She accompanied her fellow Hong Kong team members just across the border in China but did not compete.
“It all depends on the recovery of my injury but at the moment my plan is to run the marathon in early February,” said the 31-year-old, who needs about a month before resuming training again. “I can only do some light training on the bike or swimming. Hopefully, I can be fit again for the Hong Kong showpiece.”
To qualify for the Tokyo Games, Yiu needs either to achieve the entry standard of two hours 29 minutes and 30 seconds within the qualification period ending May 2020 or through the world ranking list. The Hong Kong top distance runner now ranks outside the top 400 with one marathon result and one half marathon result.