World Triathlon Cup: Hong Kong Olympic hopeful Ng ‘very positive’ following hit-and-run, head coach Wright confident
- Jason Ng targeting crucial Olympic qualification points when he races in Sunday’s Hong Kong-staged World Triathlon Cup
- Fellow home triathlete Bailee Brown resumes her Paris bid in field containing main rival, Ekaterina Shabalina of Kazakhstan
Head coach Andrew Wright said Olympic hopeful Jason Ng Tai-long was “in a good place, and very positive” before Sunday’s World Triathlon Cup in Hong Kong, just weeks after the 24-year-old was hit by a bus during a training ride.
Ng is vying for crucial points this weekend, as he bids for a spot in Paris, on a Central Harbourfront course where he claimed silver at November’s Asia Triathlon Cup.
A strong 65-man field features the Hongkonger’s direct rival for an Olympic spot, Ayan Beisenbayev of Kazakhstan.
Ng suffered the training episode last month, but despite sustaining injuries to the left side of his body after being squeezed against a metal railing, and eventually landing heavily on his back, he resumed light training within a week.
Wright said Ng produced “one of his best-ever swim sets” a fortnight after his frightening ordeal, and was convinced the accident would not affect his performance.
“No matter who you are, it would probably knock your confidence a little bit,” Wright said. “But there is unlikely to be a triathlete on the Olympic start line who has not either fallen off their bike, or been knocked off.
“It is a dangerous sport, especially if you live in a big city, although I would say Hong Kong is the best city in the world to train, with the roads we have, and the space and different types of terrain.
“Jason is putting it behind him, and looking at all the positive things he has done, which far outweigh any of the negatives. He is in a good place, and very positive.”
Ng’s compatriot Bailee Brown will renew her own Olympic fight in Sunday morning’s women’s race, where the 57-strong field includes Ekaterina Shabalina, another Kazakh and the 24-year-old’s main competitor for the ‘New Flag’ qualifying berth.
The Paris qualification points available in Hong Kong are exceeded by those on offer at a pair of elite continental races next month: the Asian Sprint Championships in Dexing on April 6, and the Olympic distance version on April 21 in the Japanese city of Hatsukaichi.
Wright, who is delegating much of the coaching of the wider Hong Kong team while he focuses on the star pair’s Paris Games aspirations, is counting the home World Cup races as “pressurised warm-ups”.
“We are not thinking about their finishing positions,” Wright said. “If they do what we plan, they will go to the Asian Championships with a lot of confidence.
“My focus is on the two triathletes trying to qualify for the Games, and everyone else fits around that. It is hard to manage, because we have a huge squad.
“From Jason’s and Bailee’s perspective, they have athletes around them who share the same dedicated mindset.”
Ng and Brown, who was third in last year’s Hong Kong-hosted Asia Triathlon Cup, are training around 25 hours per week, down from 30 hours during an initial “block of base work”.
“These guys are all super motivated, and training at full capacity,” Wright said. “At this stage, coaching involves reining them back, and not putting them in situations where they are vulnerable to accidents or mistakes.
“The elite athletes do similar levels of work. It is the guys who minimise mistakes, and have the most confidence, who get into the top positions.
“There is no point standing on the start line thinking they need to beat a particular rival, or get a certain result. If they deliver their processes, the result takes care of itself.”
