Why China’s Yunnan province is key to Hong Kong triathletes’ bid for National Games glory
Head coach finalising plans for closing stages of Games preparation, including heading to a high-altitude training site in the province
Hong Kong’s triathletes are poised to relocate to rival territory to apply the finishing touches to their bid for National Games glory.
The city’s head coach Andrew Wright began accelerating preparations after Hong Kong’s six-strong squad for November’s Games was confirmed on Tuesday, with the southwestern mainland province of Yunnan central to those plans.
The head coach said the headline omission of Paris Olympian Jason Ng Tai-long, in favour of Oscar Coggins and Robin Elg, showed that “we have more depth than in the past … we have four, sometimes five, very strong men, which is a great thing”.
Before finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in last month’s Asia Championships, Coggins and Elg trained together at altitude in France.
The success of that six-week Pyrenees camp has persuaded Wright to make similar plans for his National Games squad in Yunnan.
Last month, the Triathlon Association of Hong Kong, China signed a memorandum of understanding with Yuxi Municipal Education and Sports Bureau that grants Hong Kong access to a training site roughly 1,630m (5,350 feet) above sea level.