Despite the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong triathlete Oscar Coggins said he feels as ready as ever.
“I think I’ll be in the best form of my life in a couple months when races hopefully roll around, if I’m not in that form already,” said the 21-year-old. “I haven’t had any official competitions to put myself to the test, but I’ve done some internal testing and time trials to keep motivated and see where I’m at. I’m getting personal bests in swimming, biking and running.”
Coggins burst onto the triathlon scene in 2015 when he finished second at the Hong Kong National Championship as a 16-year-old competing against elite men. Since then he has compiled an impressive resume, which includes winning the 2019 Gyeongju ATSC Triathlon Asian Championships in South Korea as a 19-year-old.
He has all but clinched the Asian spot in Tokyo’s triathlon race, which will be held on July 26 at Odaiba Marine Park, right in the heart of the city along the waterfront. Coggins has a 260-point lead on Ayan Beisenbayev, of Kazakhstan, a margin so big he said he can hit cruise control in terms of booking his ticket to Japan.
“In practice, this means he needs to win the Asian Championships, with me also finishing outside the top eight. So it’s just on the edge of the spot being mathematically impossible for me to lose. The qualification process hasn’t yet been resumed after it was paused in early March last year. The only information we have at the moment is that it will not restart until at least May.”
The Hong Kong-born to British parents athlete has been back in the city for the past 10 months, jumping in and out of the Hong Kong Sports Institute’s bubble, which has allowed him access to the facility’s pools.
The city’s pools have been closed numerous times during the pandemic and remain closed to the general public. Last year, Coggins spent time in Phuket, Thailand, training after the coronavirus caused an initial wave of country lockdowns across Asia.
Coggins said he feels like the opportunities afforded to him at the HKSI will give him an edge leading up to the Games.
“This has been hugely beneficial,” said Coggins, “especially compared to athletes overseas that are limited to their homes and struggling to train.
“The HKSI has implemented shorter lockdown periods so athletes can train and then go home for a few days before being tested and returning. This has been the perfect system in these circumstances as it allows us to keep training at a very high level in a safe environment, while giving us opportunities to physically and mentally recover from the HKSI in a more comfortable environment.”
Coggins said he is taking the uncertainty around Tokyo 2020 in his stride, trying to strike a balance between gearing up, while also realising the Games are still a massive question mark.
On February 19, IOC president Thomas Back issued a statement thanking G7 leaders for their continued support for Tokyo to go ahead with the Games, a clear sign the governing body is pushing ahead.
Being such a young athlete, Coggins is already ranked 55th in the world, according to the ITU (World Triathlon), and has years to hit his prime. Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, who is now 32 and still competing, won the 2016 triathlon at the Rio Olympics.
“The prospect of the Tokyo Olympics being cancelled is obviously something I’m worried about and would be a huge disappointment. However, I think I’m in a relatively beneficial situation compared to a lot of other athletes. I’m very much in the early stages of my time as a senior athlete.”
Coggins has only been a full-time athlete for two and a half years, which he said means he still has a lot to learn.
Coggins said with the lack of races he’s having to compartmentalise the three disciplines – swimming, running and cycling in training. However, he realises a great triathlete is more than the three skills.
“Triathlon is not necessarily determined by the sum of the parts that the athlete can achieve in isolation, but I’m confident I can bring the form I’m experiencing in each individual sport together in competition this year,” he said.