Tokyo Olympics: Second chance for Hong Kong’s elite swimmers to qualify for Games
- The April 18 meet will be held at the Sports Institute behind closed doors under strict health measures
- Organisers could stage more meets in the summer depending on the pandemic situation at the time
Elite swimmers will be given another chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games with a second home competition to go ahead at the Sports Institute in April.
Strict health measures will be put in place again for the Hong Kong Long Course Time Trial II, which will held behind closed doors at the Fo Tan training complex where only elite swimmers on training grants would be allowed to compete in the one-day event on April 18.
Both full-time athletes and part-timers can take part in the meet but the latter – along with meet officials – must take a Covid-19 test three days before the event as a safety precaution. Full-time athletes are tested at the Institute every week. All officials and part-time athletes will not be allowed to visit any sport facilities at the Institute other than the swimming pools on event day.
“The event has been approved by Fina and it will provide another opportunity for our elite swimmers to book a ticket to the Tokyo Games this summer,” said association honorary secretary David Chiu Chin-hung. “We held our first Olympic time trial in more than a year at the same venue in March and that proved to be very successful and we want to keep the momentum going.
“It’s very important to provide a clear target for the swimmers who have been training hard over the past 12 months but have not had any competition. They need to test themselves in real competition and the results of the first trial speak for itself. Hopefully we can obtain more good results in the second meet.”
With the government’s decision to reopen public swimming pool this week following an ease in the pandemic, Chiu said a third trial is likely to be staged in June, but whether it will be held under normal conditions or behind closed doors depends on the pandemic situation.
“The situation is improving but some social-distancing requirements are required by the government,” he said. “We want to bring some normalcy back to competition like before so that friends and family members of the swimmers and other spectators can cheer for them and create a stronger competition atmosphere.
“There are two division I meets being planned for May and if we can go ahead with them, there’s a chance for the Olympic trial to be opened [to the public].”