Jason Ng down to the wire in Games bid
Hong Kong triathlete just ahead of arch-rival with one race left in quest for ticket to Paris
Hong Kong’s Olympic triathlon hopeful Jason Ng Tai-long remained ahead of his rival in the race for Paris, but only just, after failing to finish the Asia Cup event yesterday in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province.
Ng was one of the three Hongkongers, alongside Robin Elg and Mark Yu Shing-him, with a “DNF” (Did Not Finish) next to his name, while Ayan Beisenbayev of Kazakhstan was just 26 seconds off the podium places, which were occupied by Chinese triathletes.
Beisenbayev and Ng are vying for the Games’ only “new flag” berth, reserved for the highestranked Asian nation or region not already represented in Paris. There is one race left for Beisenbayev to overtake the Hongkonger, on Beisenbayev’s home territory next Saturday.
“The China team gave us a lifeline by filling the podium,” Hong Kong head coach Andrew Wright said. “But next week it will mean the Kazakh has to get no points for us to qualify. It’s not the best day for the team, to be honest. We were visibly struggling, but as were all athletes who raced last weekend [in Taizhou].”
Elg helped Ng during the cycling leg and did not run. Ng and Yu ran 5km before dropping out. Luke Schofield, of Australia, who triumphed last week in Zhejiang, did not even make it to the start line.
Teamwork could thwart Ng in Kazakhstan. Five of Beisenbayev’s six teammates finished in the top 25 yesterday, with Temirlan Temirov the best, in eighth.
China’s Teng Yunfeng won the race in two hours, one minute and 18 seconds, with compatriots Ma Yunxiang and Fan Junjie second and third.
Hong Kong’s Oscar Coggins, in his first official race since his abandoned Asian Games outing last September, finished 65 seconds behind Beisenbayev, in 2:04:36.
“Coggins was good, he hasn’t trained much and got an 11th place,” Wright said. “It’s looking good for him going forward.”
Entering the final race in Burabay, Ng is still ahead and his team know where they stand.
“[Beisenbayev] needs a podium next weekend,” Wright said. “But we are only really in control of our squad. So what we have to do is make the swim and bike as hard as possible and get Jason finishing as high as we can.”
In the women’s event yesterday, Hong Kong’s Bailee Brown finished first in a field of just nine triathletes.
She clocked 2:22:32, over four minutes ahead of Lu Meiyi of China and almost 10 minutes quicker than Lu’s compatriot Xu Xinyi.