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Paul McNamara

Bailee Brown said she felt “scared and alone” after falling over during a training run and suffering an injury that has cost her the feeling in her right index finger.
But the 24-year-old triathlete has pledged to emerge tougher from an ordeal she said could prove a blessing, and is focused on winning a medal at the National Games in November.
During emergency surgery, after the “freak accident” last month, Brown needed 15 stitches and had pieces of floating bone removed from the finger.
The Asian Games bronze medallist was midway through a 20km (12.4 miles) trail run, along one of her regular routes on Violet Hill, when she fell on flat rocks.
“My hand reached out to break my fall and one of the very smooth rocks caught me, my body weight went one way, my finger the other … so it was my body weight that ripped and broke my finger,” Brown said.
“When I looked down, my finger was at 90 degrees. I went to grab it to straighten it, because I was in denial.
“I turned my hand over and saw the white in my finger, but I couldn’t feel any pain. My parents were away on holiday and I didn’t know what to do. I was really scared and alone, and had to decide which way to go on the trail.”












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Bailee 🌟 (@bbbhk_)



Brown contacted Andrew Wright, the Hong Kong triathlon head coach, who said he would meet her at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital.
She spent the walk in tears on the phone to her mum, and said she felt so sick it was “like when you see stars [during a race] and need to get to the finish. My mum was just telling me to breathe.”
Brown arrived at the hospital “crying bloody murder”, and said everybody thought “I was dying”.
“In the first few days, because it [the finger] was really swollen, they didn’t know if I needed a skin graft to put over the wound, because it was so mangled,” Brown added.
“The first few days were chaotic. I was on really strong drugs for one week, which was an awful and crazy experience. ”

At her one-week check, Brown’s specialist revised her initial two-week return time frame to weeks, which reduced her to tears once more. She was also warned that falling again could lead to her losing the finger, which meant no running on trails.
“I was really scared,” Brown said. “I had nightmares about the whole thing, it would play over in my head.”
Brown still cannot feel her finger, but has been told the nerves might regrow. She is back in full training and will learn more about how the injury will affect her swimming when she can practise in the pool without a waterproof glove.
The incident has forced Brown to “step back and change a lot of plans”. She has deferred the original May 2025 finish date for her sociology, finance and marketing degree, and hopes a renewed focus on “nutrition, rehab, stretching and physio” will tackle long-standing stomach problems.
Brown’s main target for 2025 is to claim a medal the National Games. In the short term, she is aiming to earn selection with a strong performance at next month’s Asia Triathlon Cup race in Putrajaya, Malaysia.
“I am motivated and have a sense of purpose,” she said. “I believe I can finish on the podium at the National Games and that it will be a really strong year. It’s only my finger … it’s the smallest accident. I wish it hadn’t happened, but it could be a blessing. These challenges will make me tougher.”


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Triathlon

Bailee Brown competing in the Hong Kong leg of the 2024 World Triathlon Cup. Photo: Elson Li

Brown will return to competition at an Asia Triathlon Cup race in Malaysia next month. Photo: Elson Li

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Anson Wong (No 8) playing against Uzbekistan at the Asian Games in 2023. Photo: Dickson Lee

Sport

Hong Kong

Bailee Brown needs 15 stitches and still can’t feel part of right hand after serious injury during training run, but vows to bounce back


Bailee Brown needs 15 stitches and still can’t feel part of right hand after serious injury during training run, but vows to bounce back.
