Paris Olympics: Hong Kong coach vows triathlete Jason Ng will have best team around him in final qualification bid

Ng to tackle three races in as many weekends as he tries to hold onto last Games place

Hongkonger holds ‘slight margin’ over Kazakhstan rival Ayan Beisenbayev, with China’s Fan Junji out of the picture

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Hong Kong’s Jason Ng runs down the finish chute at the end of the men’s triathlon at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Photo: SF&OC

Published: 8:00am, 8 May 2024Updated: 9:34am, 8 May 2024

Hong Kong’s Olympic hopeful Jason Ng Tai-long will have the weight of the city’s triathlon programme thrown behind him as he enters the last stretch of his race to qualify for the Paris Games this summer.

Head coach Andrew Wright said he would put out the strongest team possible to support Ng, who has three races in as many weekends to secure his spot for France.

Ng will tackle three Olympic distance races in as many weekends, starting in the mainland Chinese city of Taizhou on Saturday, and Wright said the 24-year-old would not be going it alone.

“We are sending our best four men to help, we have a strong and committed team to help [Jason],” Wright said. “I’m confident in our race plan and ability to execute it well. The key to it is committing from the start of the race and making the swim and bike as hard as possible as those are our strengths.”

Ng still enjoys a slight advantage over his Kazakhstan rival, Ayan Beisenbayev, and with China’s Fan Junjie now out of the picture, Wright said the team knew what they have to do.

Team Hong Kong coach Andrew Wright is throwing his best team behind Jason Ng’s qualification bid. Photo: Dickson Lee

“Basically it’s between Ng and the Kazakh, Fan doesn’t have enough points after the Asian Championships to close the gap,” he said. “We need to ensure the Kazakh doesn’t improve his scores by finishing in the top six.