High jumper Cecilia Yeung flops at Athletics Series 3 as her selection for the China National Games is thrown into disarray
- The part-time model could only manage a disappointing 1.70 metres at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground with her nomination for the China National Games in jeopardy
- University of Berkeley student Lai Yan-hei clears 1.77m to join Tang Yi-ching at the top of the Hong Kong high jump rankings
High jumper Cecilia Yeung Man-wai’s competition options have been narrowed with her sights now set on next year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou after she failed to make the grade at the Athletics Series 3 at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground on Saturday.
The Hong Kong part-time model, who returned from a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury this season, could only manage a disappointing 1.70 metres to finish joint fifth in the women’s high jump. She was comprehensively beaten by event winner Lai Yan-hei who jumped 1.77 metres.
With little hope of qualifying for the Olympics, Yeung’s chances of winning a place in the Hong Kong squad for September’s China National Games are in jeopardy and the 26-year-old said the Asian Games might be her next realistic option.
The Association of Athletics Affiliates has delayed its nomination for the forthcoming China National Games, which will take place in September, in order to accommodate results of the event for consideration.
A disappointed Yeung after failing to clear 1.73 metres after three attempts at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground.
Lai’s 1.77 metre jump puts her in joint first place for the season, along with Tiffany Tang Yi-ching, who won the preseason Trial in March after clearing the same height.
“I will have to set my sights on the 2022 Asian Games if I can’t go to the National Games,” said Yeung, whose Hong Kong record stands at 1.88 metres set in Taipei in 2017. “I used a seven-step approach today and apparently the result wasn’t very effective, not even as good as when I used a five-step approach when I cleared 1.75 metres at the Hong Kong Championships early this month. Maybe I didn’t have sufficient training using this approach.
“But anyway, I plan to start using the full approach in my next event after recovering from the Achilles tendon injury so that I can look forward to better results.”
Yeung ruptured her right foot tendon during practice at the Sports Institute in 2019 and has only returned to competition this year in a season blighted by the pandemic.
Lai, meanwhile, may have to postpone her studies in the United States if she is selected for the National Games. The 19-year-old, a silver medallist at the 2019 Asia Junior Championships, has completed her first year computer science studies at the University of California at Berkeley, where she is studying by distance learning because of the pandemic.
“I plan to start my second year in the United States but if I am selected for the National Games, I will have to discuss with my coach regarding the schedule,” said Lai, who came close to the under-20 Hong Kong record of 1.8 metres after clearing 1.77 metres. Her personal best stands at 1.79 metres, which she set at the Asian junior event.
The promising athlete said she would continue the high jump by taking part in the NCAA while she study in the United States.
