Hong Kong’s triathletes secured a silver medal in the National Games mixed relay on Sunday, clocking one hour, 24 minutes and 16 seconds.
The mixed relay event featured two male and two female athletes, with each tackling a 0.3-kilometer swim, a 6.6-kilometer cycle ride and a 1.8-kilometer run.
The course wound through stunning spots along Victoria Harbour and the Central Harbourfront, including iconic landmarks such as the Golden Bauhinia Square and the Hong Kong Conventional and Exhibition Centre, and the Hong Kong Observation Wheel.
Cade Wright, coming off a solid fourth-place finish in the women’s race, launched the team in the first leg with a strong performance. Robin Elg followed up in the second leg, keeping the momentum and maintaining the lead.
Meanwhile, Shandong’s Zhang Chi surged ahead, closing the gap to just five seconds between the top two teams.
In the third leg, Hong Kong’s Bailee Brown faced a challenge as she was overtaken by Yang Yifan. Soon after, Huang Anqi from the China Public Security Sports Association took the lead, pushing the Hong Kong team back to third.
In the men’s individual triathlon event, Oscar Coggins snagged a bronze medal, powered through the cycling leg, claiming the top spot ahead of Shandong.
During the final run, however, he was overtaken by Shandong’s runner, dropping him to second place.
Coggins helped the team finish in second place, crossing the line just 11 seconds behind the gold medal-winning Shandong team.
After the race, Wright said that the team was thrilled with their performance. Their goal had been to finish in the top three, and capturing the silver medal felt exhilarating after everyone delivered their maximum effort.
Coggins, also celebrating a bronze yesterday, emphasized the Hong Kong team’s capabilities to compete for medals.
He acknowledged the formidable strength of the Shandong team but expressed genuine happiness at achieving the silver medal.
