Asian Games: Hong Kong triathlon pair told greatness within reach, on one condition

High-achieving sisters Cade and Tallulah Wright have been tipped to grow into two of Hong Kong’s greatest triathletes, on condition they narrow their focus on the sport until at least the 2032 Olympics. Poised for Asian Games debuts in September, the 23-year-old twins have juggled their senior international emergence over the past few years with studying at The University of Edinburgh. A talented linguist, Tallulah Wright completed her international relations degree this summer and is professionally ambitious, while Cade Wright is deliberating over whether to delay the final year of her mathematics degree. They both performed soundly in their final Games preparation races in Canada over the weekend, albeit a minor shin issue forced Cade’s withdrawal from the individual event before the closing run. “Tallulah and Cade both have the potential to be great athletes if they focus and stay consistent over the next four-to-six years,” said Andrew Wright, the head coach, who is no relation to his athletes. “I’d say they are capable of winning major games medals and achieving Olympic qualification.” For the next 4½ weeks, all six of Hong Kong’s Asian Games squad will set up base in their altitude camp in mainland province Yunnan. For the quartet who competed in Edmonton, Oscar Coggins, Wong Tsz-to and the Wrights, that meant starting this week with a trio of flights to cover roughly 10,700km (6,650 miles). Robin Elg and Bailee Brown, both fighting to recover from bone stress injuries in time to compete in Japan in two months, made the hop across from Hong Kong. Coggins finished 24th out of 64 starters in Canada, clocking 53 minutes and 23 seconds, coming home shortly after Asian Games podium rivals, Takumi Hojo and Kenji Nener of Japan, who were 18th and 21st in 53:07 and 53:14, respectively. Great Britain’s Solomon Okrafo-Smart won in 52:20. “Oscar’s performance was great, he worked hard to get in a breakaway of six on the bike but everyone regrouped just before the run,” Wright said. “He made the race as hard as possible for himself to replicate the likely Asian Games scenario, and he ran well off a hard swim-bike.” Nick Tsang Cheung-sing placed 54th, while Nick Yip Tak-long pulled out following the 750m swim. “His swim isn’t strong enough yet to compete at this level, so unless he has an outstanding day he’s going to get found out,” Wright said. Tallulah Wright’s 27th position was the best of it for Hong Kong’s women in a race won by Taylor Knibb, the American two-time Olympic mixed-relay silver medallist. Knibb managed 58:35, while Tallulah Wright crossed in 1:01:56, and Hilda Choi Yan-yin placed 43rd in 1:04:37. Cade Wright, currently fighting with Brown to call herself Hong Kong’s leading female triathlete after her excellent fourth-place effort in last year’s National Games, was strong over the swim and 20km bike but surrendered to her shin complaint before the 5km run. “She had a niggling pain and it was smarter to avoid flaring it up so she can train consistently over the next few weeks,” Andrew Wright said. Neither Cade Wright nor Coggins featured in the mixed relay because, according to Andrew Wright, “we didn’t need to see them bury themselves for two days in a row”. “It was better to recover before the three flights to get to altitude,” he added. Relay bronze medallists in the past two Asian Games, Hong Kong’s chief purpose for joining the team race in Canada was to allow specialist Wong to “have a hit out” after he did not compete in the individual event. He duly summoned a good 21:04 second leg, after Tallulah Wright’s 22:21 opening effort. Choi could manage only 23:46, before Tsang went round in 22:13 to bring the city team home in 1:29:25. They were last out of the 13 starters, although Japan and South Korea, fielding their strongest quartets, were only ninth and 11th, in 1:26:13 and 1:27:31 respectively. It is conceivable that with medals on the line in Aichi-Nagoya, Hong Kong could make wholesale changes and send out the National Games silver medal foursome of Elg, Coggins, Cade Wright and Brown. “The guys did well to get round and weren’t far off Japan and Korea’s strongest teams,” Andrew Wright said. “If we can keep progressing the squad, a relay qualification for 2032 [Olympics] is on the cards.”

Asian Games: Hong Kong triathlon pair told greatness within reach, on one condition

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}City squad braced for Yunnan altitude camp following Canada races, as preparations for Japan medal quest accelerate

City squad braced for Yunnan altitude camp following Canada races, as preparations for Japan medal quest accelerate