Latest news with #AsianSprintChampionships
South China Morning Post
02-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong coach sees Olympic future for sprint triathlon as team get set for Asian event
The Hong Kong head coach, Andrew Wright, has predicted an Olympics future where 'spectator-friendly' sprint triathlon replaces standard distance races. Advertisement Talking before Hong Kong hosts this weekend's Asian Sprint Championships, Wright also tipped the 70.3-kilometre half-ironman discipline for Games inclusion. Hong Kong will have eight men and four women competing in Saturday's Central Harbourfront races, which feature swimming, biking and running legs covering 750 metres (0.47 miles), 20 kilometres and 5km, respectively. The comparative Olympic distances are exactly twice as long. 'You can see where triathlon and other sports are going: their popularity depends on them being spectator friendly,' Wright said. 'We are moving to short, sharp, fast and entertaining distances. 'It might be that [in major Games], you have the 70.3km, which is very popular, and the sprint. The Olympic distance can be a bit boring, watching athletes parading around on the bike for an hour.' Advertisement After World Triathlon began awarding equal ranking points for sprint and standard races, there is plenty on the line this weekend for the home athletes trying to secure National Games qualification. Any top-five finishers will be guaranteed spots for November's home event.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong triathletes challenged to book National Games spots at Asian Sprint Championships
Hong Kong triathlon head coach Andrew Wright has challenged his athletes to grab their places on the National Games squad when the city hosts the Asian Sprint Championships next month. Advertisement Those who finish among the top five in the men's and women's individual races will earn automatic selection to the Games squad, limited to three men and three women for host city Hong Kong – which is exempt from the qualifiers required for all other mainland Chinese provinces, cities and autonomous regions. 'We have the capability [to get those results], which is why we set the target,' Wright said. 'We knew this was going to be a tough field, so top five is very hard to achieve. 'But it wouldn't surprise me if we had a couple of athletes getting the qualification from this race.' However, the head coach warned that the standard of the pack at next month's championships would be the most competitive ever. Most of the city's triathletes will be competing on April 5 and 6 at Central Harbourfront. Photo: Handout 'This is the first time we are hosting this; Hong Kong is a great place and everyone wants to come and fight,' Wright added.
South China Morning Post
18-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Asian sprint triathlon and National Games beckon for Hong Kong's Cade Wright
Hong Kong triathlete Cade Wright will this weekend have the incentive of reaching a continental showpiece in her hometown as she builds on what her coach considers 'world-class' potential. The Asia Triathlon Cup in Malaysia offers Wright an opportunity to earn a berth at the Asian Sprint Championships, which Hong Kong will host in April. It could also continue a rise that has taken her to the brink of the world's top 200. That is not bad going for someone who as a child was 'not interested in swimming at all'. The 21-year-old is one of four elite women joining the seven-strong men's team in Malaysia on Saturday, knowing a top-10 finish overall and placing inside the top three with Hong Kong's women's team will clinch her a spot at the sprint championships. Born to an English father and a Hong Kong mother, Wright started as a runner, breaking multiple junior records and winning 1500 metres gold at the 2019 Asian Youth Athletics Championships. 'I grew up [running at] 26 Coaching,' Wright said, referring to the youth programme founded by Andrew Wright – no relation – who is now Hong Kong triathlon head coach.
South China Morning Post
13-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong triathlete Brown suffers injury setback as National Games push begins
Bailee Brown has suffered a setback in her recovery from a serious finger injury that means she will miss this month's season-opening Asia Triathlon Cup race in Malaysia. Hong Kong's leading female triathlete, Brown had hoped to compete in Putrajaya, two months after she fell while on a training run and fractured and ripped open her right index finger. During emergency surgery, she had floating bone removed from the finger, which had bent to a right angle, and needed 15 stitches. Brown underwent a second surgery following complications with her recovery, and needs one more operation before she can resume training. Andrew Wright, the Hong Kong triathlon head coach, said the best-case scenario for Brown, who has remained 'fit and in good shape', was a return to 'proper' training in six weeks. That would leave her precious little time to prepare for the Hong Kong-staged Asian Sprint Championships, on April 5, which will double as a selection race for November's National Games, where Brown is targeting a podium finish. Bailee Brown is set to undergo a third surgery on the finger she damaged in December. Photo: Yik Yeung-man 'Such a high-level athlete can get fit very quickly and [assuming a smooth recovery], she is likely to be on the start line [for Asian Sprint Championships], although she will struggle to compete for a medal,' Wright said.
