Hong Kong pole vault record falls to Cheung Pui-yin, after fellow competitor’s hard landing at Tseung Kwan O meet
- Cheung clears 5 metres mark after overcoming mental barrier with help of sports psychologist
- But fellow pole vaulter Cheung Kwan-yeung ends up in hospital after missing mat
Cheung Pui-yin broke his own Hong Kong pole vault record with a jump of five metres on Saturday, just 30 minutes after Cheung Kwan-yeung missed his landing and had to be taken to hospital.
Attempting his third jump of 3.85m at the fourth event in the Hong Kong Athletics Series at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, Cheung Kwan-yeung came down near the edge of the landing mat and fell to the ground.
After being checked by medical staff he was stretchered away from the jump and taken to hospital in an ambulance. Officials would only say that Cheung Kwan-yeung was expected to be kept overnight for observation.
Cheung Pui-yin knows all about the dangers of the sport, he suffered a nasty fall of his own in 2018, breaking a bone in one wrist that took four months to heal.
“I know this is a dangerous sport, and I wish him the best and hope he is not seriously injured,” Cheung Pui-yin said.
Despite the accident, the 29-year-old managed to stay focused on his own jump, and after clearing 4.60m and 4.80m with ease, he cleared five metres on his second try.
Although he could not improve on that mark, Cheung Pui-yin hailed his achievement as a personal milestone and said he had been waiting “for almost two years” to get to this point.