Hong Kong half-marathon winner Crystal Vut Tsz-ying admits ‘I didn’t even think about getting a medal’
- Asian Games representative says ‘getting No 1 makes me so happy’ after storming to victory in Sunday’s race
- Ellinor Sallander of Sweden finishes a distant second nearly six minutes back, ahead of third-placed Ella Au Wing-ning
Getting on the podium had not even crossed Crystal Vut Tsz-ying’s mind when she set off in the Hong Kong half-marathon from Nathan Road in Tsim Tsa Tsui in the early hours of Sunday morning.
But with no invited overseas runners due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 31-year-old Hongkonger stormed to victory in the women’s 21-kilometre race, crossing the finish line at Victoria Park in one hour, 20 minutes and 41 seconds.
Sweden’s Ellinor Sallander could only finish a distant second nearly six minutes back in 1:26:01, ahead of third-placed Ella Au Wing-ning (1:26:44) of Hong Kong.
“I didn’t even think about getting a medal, so getting No 1 makes me really happy,” Asian Games representative Vut told reporters in a post-race media scrum.
Vut’s time may have been 1:33 short of her personal best, which she had set in Gdynia, Poland in October 2020 at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, but she was not letting anything take away from her dominant victory.
“Although I didn’t break my personal best, I performed much better than I had in training,” she said. “I started off quicker, because I thought I would need time for the elevation and the turns.