Christy Yiu betters her Hong Kong marathon record in Milan but time still not good enough to send her to Tokyo
- Yiu’s finishing time 2:31:21 takes almost three minutes off her previous best set in Australia
- She had not raced in any marathon for 22 months after last appearing in 2019 Gold Coast race
Christy Yiu Kit-ching can hold her head up high despite failing to meet the Olympic entry mark in the Milan Marathon on Sunday, her first marathon in over 22 months because of the pandemic outbreak.
On a chilly morning in the northern Italian city, Hong Kong’s long-distance ace completed the 42.195km race in two hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds, missing the Tokyo Games entry standard 2:29:30 by less than two minutes.
The 33-year-old, however, shattered her own Hong Kong record of 2:34:07, which she set at the 2019 Gold Coast Marathon in Australia, her last full marathon race.
There were only 120 elite athletes invited for the special 2021 edition of the race with the target of providing athletes another chance to qualify for the Tokyo Games this summer. Yiu could not take part in the race without negotiations between Hong Kong, the race organisers and World Athletics.
“I don’t think we should ask more from her in consideration of her long absence from real competition due to the pandemic outbreak,” said Simon Yeung Sai-mo, senior vice-chairman of the Association of Athletics affiliates. “She has done a great job with a new Hong Kong record, which we should be proud of.