Harbour Swim chaos: disqualified swimmers complain of poorly managed start as record 2,330 take part
Hear from the first woman across the line in Hong Kong’s New World Harbour Race: disqualified and disgruntled at a lack of organisation with ‘huge numbers’ of swimmers jumping the gun
Top swimmers in this year's cross-harbour race complained they were unfairly disqualified after jumping the starting gun when they could not hear it properly, with many swimmers standing beyond the starting line before the race began.
They were among the 2,330 local and overseas swimmers joining the fifth annual New World Harbour Race yesterday morning, splashing their way 1.5km across the harbour from Kowloon's Sam Ka Tsuen in Lei Yue Mun to Quarry Bay Park.
According to the organiser, the Amateur Swimming Association, 48 swimmers were disqualified from the race.
Fiona Chan On-yi crossed the finish line first in the Women's Open Race Group A - for competitors aged 17 to 35 - but was disqualified. She said the race arrangements were very chaotic.
