HK athletes in five sports book tickets to Paris 2024 Olympics

Hong Kong athletes in five sport categories - cycling, sailing, swimming, table tennis, and windsurfing - have qualified in 15 events for the Paris 2024 Olympics as of March 26, according to Legco documents submitted by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

In swimming, Hong Kong’s star swimmer Siobhan Haughey will represent the city in the women’s 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m freestyle, and 100m breaststroke. Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet and Ian Ho Yentou will feature in the women’s 200m backstroke and men’s 50m freestyle respectively.

For the ILCA7 event in sailing, Nicholas Bezy Halliday will represent Hong Kong.

Nominations for other events are to be confirmed, the document read.

Meanwhile, the bureau said the Hong Kong Sports Institute’s analysis indicated that six
more sports - Athletics, Badminton, Fencing, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon - will likely qualify for the Paris Olympics.

As for the Paris Paralympic Games, the China Hong Kong Paralympic Committee assessed that Badminton, Table Tennis and Wheelchair Fencing should also be able to qualify, said the bureau.

To drum up Olympic enthusiasm in the community and show support for our athletes participating in the Games, the bureau said authorities will step up publicity efforts for the events to generate greater interest in sports among members of the public, and help foster a stronger sporting culture in Hong Kong.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will set up focal sites with live or replay broadcasting arrangements at designated sports centers during the games.

“A launching event of the Olympics Focal Site at the LCSD venue is tentatively scheduled for July 2024. The LCSD is also considering other complementary publicity activities as appropriate.” The bureau added.

Separately, the Hong Kong Sports Institute has created a three-phase media campaign. The institute expected, through the campaign, to enhance publicity for the games and suitably mange public expectations on the results of the games.