“It was crazy,” said Brown, adding that she wished Wright a smooth transition into the new role. “My coach at the time convinced me to stay. He said I had a lot of potential and should continue representing Hong Kong – I was sold.

“He’s left Hong Kong now. It’s hard to get into that, but as athletes we face adversity all the time. It’s just another obstacle to get over and that’s something we’re good at.

Brown has dominated the regional junior circuit, capping the 2019 season with a podium finish in the elite category at the Cholpon-Ata ASTC Sprint Triathlon Asian Cup and a 13th-place debut at the ITU World Junior Championships. Already ranked 20th in Asia’s elite category, she has big plans for her transition to U-23s.

“I wanted a top 10 – that was the plan,” she said. “But if you told me two years ago that I would get 13th, I’d have been ecstatic. I’m striving for better now and really want to get into that top 10.”

While everything – like much of the world’s sports – is up in the air, Brown is itching to return to her familiar international schedule of swimming, biking and running.

“It’s been a total change. Everything’s flipped upside down,” Brown said, struggling to recall her last race at an ITU World Cup series event in Tongyeong, South Korea last October.

“It’s been tough because we haven’t been able to go to any international races and we should be in Europe right now, almost getting ready for the worlds. It could take another year just because countries aren’t safe and there’s different quarantine rules.

“It’s been pretty challenging mentally to be training for, like, nothing. I love to race. It’s weird because I’ve not spent a summer in Hong Kong – I really enjoyed travelling overseas to solely focus on my training.”

“The girls are developing still but there’s definitely a lot more of us than when I started which is great. We have a really good team environment and we’re really close to each other,” Brown said.

“European racing is much more challenging than Asian races, so being present on the international [circuit] with Hong Kong is really good. We’re getting visible on the track internationally and it has been a step in the right direction. I totally think we have potential in the coming years but everyone is still quite young.

“Even when I was at the Asian Games in 2018, Hong Kong was such a young team compared to other countries. Not a lot of people thought we could get a medal.

“It was great we got a bronze but I hope we can do better at the next one [2022 in Hangzhou, China]. Japan is a strong country on the world triathlon map so they will be our competition. Hong Kong is on that path.”

With pandemics, lockdowns and quarantines as far-reaching as ever, Brown has tentatively set her sights on next year’s All China Games, the Asian Games, and the ITU world championships. Longer-term goals include the Olympic Games in Paris (2024) and Los Angeles (2028), by which Brown intends to be within reach of two-time American world champion Gwen Jorgensen.

“She was the 2016 Olympic gold medallist – her work ethic is crazy and very admirable. Now being able to see these amazing triathletes in person, it makes things more realistic for me. I can actually visualise myself one day being there as well,” Brown said.

“I’m still considerably young in this sport, so focusing on triathlon now as my main job has been really fun. It’s obviously a process and normally female triathletes peak in their late 20s, so it gives me hope. I would love to be recognised as one of the world’s top triathletes in the next couple of years.