‘Now I want to sleep’: Hong Kong triathletes dominate with early 10km double in the dark at marathon
Victory in early races leaves Hilda Choi and Abraham Kok full of confidence ahead of triathlon World Cup in Cape Town next month
Hong Kong triathlete Abraham Kok Yu-hang surpassed expectations, his personal best and the rest of the field to win the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 10km men’s overall category on Sunday, coming from behind to pip the race leader at the last.
The 21-year-old finished in a remarkable 31 minutes 58 seconds, almost a full minute faster than his run the year before.
“I ran 32:40 last year, it’s a big improvement in one year,” said Kok, who has been running for five years. “I think it’s because I do triathlon; running is not the only important part of my race – I think about it as a whole – so I just followed my personal best from last year.
“It was really competitive,” he added. “My teammate and I were chasing the leader all the way, and I ended up passing him right at the end. The last 3km was difficult because of the strong winds.
“I honestly never thought I would win, let alone clock such a strong time. I aimed for the early 32s but I was surprised. I knew there would be runners from Japan and other places, so my plan was to follow their lead and secure a good time.”
