Tokyo Games: Hong Kong’s William Yan Thorley qualifies for Olympics in marathon swimming
- The 18-year-old obtains a continental spot after finishing 26th in the qualifying event on the Sado River in Portugal over the weekend
- The university student will be the first marathon swimmer from Hong Kong to compete at the Olympics since Natasha Tsang at the 2012 London Games
Born in Hong Kong to an Australian father and a local Chinese mother, Thorley has become the first local open water swimmer to make it to the Olympics after Natasha Tsang first represented Hong Kong in the sport at the 2012 London Olympics, where she finished 20th.
Thorley, who lived in Hong Kong until he was 16, returned to Australia to continue his studies and is at university. He finished 26th at the Setubal Olympic marathon swimming event at the Sado River in Portugal but managed to obtain the continental spot. A total of 15 Olympic spots were on offer.
According to Olympic marathon swimming rules, the highest-placed athlete in the 10km event who had not yet qualified, from each of the five continents will directly qualify for Tokyo. The 18-year-old Thorley qualified representing Asia.
The men’s event was won by Great Britain’s Hector Pardoe, who hit the time pad in 2:02:07.60. Greece’s Athanasios Kynigakis was second while compatriot, Tobias Robinson, finished third to complete the podium.