Hong Kong half marathon record holder Wong ready for city return, as elite athletes line-up for Penny’s Bay race
- Just 247 competitors to run in elite event after government caps entries
- Wong holds city record at 4 distances – 5,000m, 10k, 15k, and half-marathon
More than 600 runners will take part in the weekend’s Hong Kong Half Marathon Challenge after government granted final approval for the race to go ahead.
And the city’s record holder at the distance, Wong Wan-chun, expected to be among 247 runners in the elite field.
With government capping the number of competitors allowed to race at any one time at 500, elite athletes will run on Sunday morning, with 395 amateur’s going off on Saturday evening at Penny’s Bay.
Dennis Ng Yu-ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA), said the lack of top runners was a result of the changes to the city’s quarantine policy.
“For the elite group, I know that after the government changed their quarantine arrangement to “0+3” [three days of medical surveillance], some of the elite runners shifted their focus to the Fukuoka International Marathon on December 4,” he said.
Wong will certainly be one to watch on Sunday, after setting two city records already this year. The 26-year-old finished the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon in June in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 57 seconds, and weeks later posted an impressive time of 29 minutes 27 seconds at the Gold Coast 10k.
