View From The EdgeHong Kong’s greatest trail runner in 21-day quarantine after gruelling UTMB as Nicole Kidman roams free – a tale of two people

Name: Why Nicole Kidman’s Hong Kong quarantine exemption is unfair
Uploaded: 2021-09-02T14:00:20.000Z
Duration: 3 min 41 s
Description: Why Nicole Kidman’s Hong Kong quarantine exemption is unfair

The 34-year-old completed one of the toughest ultra-marathons in the world, came 11th for Hong Kong, and is now quarantined in a small room with no treadmill

Wong, who is fully vaccinated and took an antibody test before leaving, only found out about the quarantine changes the day he was scheduled to fly to Europe

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Wong Ho-chung in his quarantine hotel where he must remain for 21 days after racing 171km in France. Photo: Handout

Patrick Blennerhassett

Published: 10:00pm, 2 Sep 2021Updated: 12:21am, 3 Sep 2021

Let’s paint a picture of two people.

On Friday evening in France, Hong Kong trail runner Wong Ho-chung began competing in the 2021 UTMB. The prestigious ultramarathon, which winds its way through the Tour du Mont Blanc in the French Alps, is no small feat at 171km (106 miles) long with elevations as high as 2,570 metres (8,430 feet). It’s cold, windy, completely unforgiving and most racers don’t finish. Regular people take a week to complete it.

Just under 24 hours later, Wong crossed the finish line, 11th in the world, officially representing his homeland in the process. Wong lost partial vision in his eyes about halfway through the race before having to descend down slippery hills. The difficulty of this event can’t be understated – a Czech runner died at this year’s event.

Wong is not a professional athlete, and has been a firefighter for 14 years. He’s been stationed all around the city where he was born and raised. His job, as everyone knows, is incredibly dangerous. During a grade three fire in Lai Chi Kok, he lost one of his fellow firefighters and saved another person’s life. He was also sent out to another fire in which two of his colleagues died on the job.

He does not get special treatment because he is one of Asia’s top trail runners, nor is he the type of person who would ever ask for it. After his shifts, when he’s not spending time with his wife and children, he’s on the trails, training relentlessly. He uses vacation time to compete and has also represented Hong Kong at the World Firefighters Games. There is no way around it, Wong is a local hero, incredibly humble and a role model for youngsters.

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Why Nicole Kidman’s Hong Kong quarantine exemption is unfair

The second person is Nicole Kidman. She is an Australian actress, who was born in Hawaii, and is most well known for roles in Hollywood films such as The Hours, Far and Away and Batman Forever. She was also married to Tom Cruise for 11 years and currently lives in the US.