Distance runner Christy Yiu Kit-ching will be racing for the first time this year on the international stage as she sets her sights on qualifying for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a year rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 32-year-old can finally leave Hong Kong next week for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, on October 17. Yiu, who set a Hong Kong record for the event (one hour 12 minutes and 52 seconds) in her last international event in Tokyo last November, will be joined by teammates Vut Tsz-ying and Wong Wan-chun, Hong Kong’s men’s leading distance runner. They will face a strong international field of 157 men and 126 women from 62 countries in the northern Polish city. This will be the only World Athletics Series event to take place on the global calendar in 2020. With Covid-19 still raging in Europe, Yiu and her teammates will have to follow a set of World Athletics protocols, including testing Covid-19 free before departing and again upon their arrival at their hotel. There will be no quarantine required in Gdynia but their movements will be confined to the hotel, and training and competition venues. When they return to Hong Kong, the trio will also have to go through the 14-day quarantine requested by the government. Distance running star Christy Yiu hits a fork in the road for Tokyo Despite the requirements, Yiu is looking forward to her first international race for almost a year as she aims for Tokyo next year. “I still need some good results to boost my world ranking for making it to Tokyo next summer,” said Yiu, who stands at 382 in the world standings. “Under normal circumstances, a good marathon result will give more ranking points than a half marathon, but this is an exceptional time and I have to take every opportunity that comes. “There will be some medical protocols to follow for taking part in the world event and if one of us tests positive in Poland, the entire team will not be allowed to participate. There is little we can do about it as the world is still under the pandemic attack.” Yiu breaks marathon record but misses out on Tokyo spot Yiu’s next target after Poland will be the Guangzhou Marathon at the end of the year and then the 2021 Hong Kong International Marathon, tentatively set for April. Before leaving for Poland, Yiu will take part in a 5,000 metres race at the 2020 Hong Kong Trial at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground this weekend. The 2016 Rio Olympian shattered a decade-long Hong Kong marathon record in Gold Coast, Australia, last summer with a time of 2:34:07, but has since been seeking another opportunity to boost her Tokyo qualification hopes. Injury and the pandemic have interrupted her schedule for almost a year. There will be a quota of 80 marathon runners for the 2020 Games (postponed to July 23-August 8, 2021), with a cut-off time of 2:29:30. But since a country can send a maximum of three runners, there will be some qualifying places left for those who make it through the world rankings.