Hong Kong triathlon bosses expect to host Asian Youth Championships in November, will pay for athletes to come to city
- Success of Hong Kong Triathlon Championships paves way for regional event, organisers say
- Nicholas Tsang and Cheri Cho win men and women’s elite challenge races at Plover Cove on Sunday
The Hong Kong Triathlon Championships returned on Sunday after a four-year hiatus, and officials said the successful completion of the event would pave the way for the city to host the Asian Youth Championships next month.
Organisers expect more than 200 international and local athletes to compete on November 27, and revealed they would be paying for overseas entrants to arrive early to combat Hong Kong’s Covid-19 restriction.
Normally, athletes would spend three days at a competition, but the Hong Kong government’s insistence that arrivals not enter certain locations until they have been in the city for that same period of time has prompted triathlon bosses to offer free accommodation and food for five days.
While declining to say how much that would cost, Wan Shu-wah, vice-president of the Hong Kong Triathlon Association, said the feedback from across the region had been largely positive and several countries had indicated a willingness to take part.
November’s championships will consist of five divisions, including an under-15 super-sprint race, and organisers estimate about 10 countries will compete, with a maximum of 12 athletes per team.
“According to our budget, we will not pay for all international athletes, those with more than four athletes must pay on their own,” Wan said.
In the absence of most of Hong Kong’s elite triathletes, who are preparing for the World Cup event in Japan later this month, Nicholas Tsang Cheung-sing won Sunday’s challenge race, with 260 competitors taking part across several distances at Plover Cove.