National Games: Vera Lui Lai-yiu shaves personal best but misses out in women’s 100m hurdles final
- The 26-year-old runs one millisecond slower than her personal best to finish third in heat, with top two qualifying
- Fujian’s Lin clocks an impressive 12.85 to enter final as clear favourite
The 26-year-old 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist ran 13.33 seconds in her heat, just four milliseconds off You Na of Hubei in second, while Jiangsu representative Wang Li won the heat in 13.19. She finished ninth, 0.02 seconds off qualifying in the top eight.
Fellow Jiangsu hurdler Wang Dou, Chen Yinfeng of Yunnan, Lin Yuwei of Fujian and Wu Yanni of Sichuan took the remaining qualifying spots, with the latter two the only ones to break 13 seconds.
Lin, who ran her heat in 12.85 seconds, a personal best, was 0.21 seconds off the Games record set in 1993. Compatriots Dou and Wu were considered favourites ahead of the event given their seasons-best times of 13.02 and 12.87, respectively.
“I finished ninth, just 0.02 seconds, and couldn’t get into the final. But I think I ran really well. Actually I’m really fit, I would never have thought my state would be that good after running on-and-off for 14 days,” Lui said.
“Running out there actually gave me belief that I could break the Hong Kong record. But on the sixth or seventh hurdle I hit hands with the hurdler on my left, so I couldn’t get that consistency. But 13.33 is a good time, although it’s not what expected. It’s my second-best PB, so I’m OK with it.”
Lui, who did not qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after missing out on overseas events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, improved on her season best of 13.49 set at the Hong Kong Championships heats earlier this year.
The women’s 100m hurdles final is on Wednesday night.
Hong Kong won a silver medal in the men’s 4x100m relay at the 2001 Guangzhou Games with coach Tang as one of the four members. At the 2005 Nanjing Games, Tang Yik-chung won a bronze in the men’s 200m.
