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Sam Agars

Mark Agnew

Patrick Blennerhassett

Nazvi Careem

Our writers look back at the year just gone and the one ahead.
Look out for part two of this roundup from our team later.
John Moore’s final months with boom youngster Aethero
The rise of John Moore’s boom sprinter Aethero has been a sight to behold in recent months and although he didn’t get the chocolates at Group One level in the Hong Kong Sprint, he was only a neck behind Beat The Clock in third and the future knows no bounds for this horse.

Making things all the more interesting is that Aethero’s ascendance coincides with John Moore’s last Hong Kong season and the duo’s final six months together will no doubt make for captivating viewing.
Moore will be desperate to extract a Group One out of the horse before having to hand him over to another trainer – just what lengths will he go to in his pursuit of that goal? Sam Agars

A year of inspirational highlights
The year started off with the 298km Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (HK4TUC). One of the profiles was on Hong Kong-based Scot Nikki Han. Han is understated and modest, a runner who takes on challenges for all the right reasons. That is, for the love of it. She was happy to talk to the media, but if she completed the 298km run and no one ever found out, it probably wouldn’t matter to her.
That is why it was such a highlight to watch her become the first woman to earn the title “HK4TUC finisher”. She stood by the iconic letter box in Mui Wo and let out a roar. It put a lump in my throat.

But the runner who impressed most this year was James Somers Eve. I use the term runner loosely because Somers Eve had never run more than 10km before. He probably didn’t realise how big a challenge he was undertaking when he decided to carry 45kg – a kilo for every one his father lost to cancer – around the Lantau 70. He slogged around the course in 21 hours.
Tokyo 2020, Kenneth To and Poon Ching-chiu deaths and cancellations dominate Hong Kong sport in 2019
I am in awe. Seeing Somers Eve, a heavy-set former rugby player, taking on the challenge inspired me in a way few other stories have.
I could relate to his inexperience but could not imagine the challenge of carrying that weight. Mark Agnew

Rugby wins and loses, CrossFit gains
It was an eventful year, personally. I covered my first Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, witnessing the men’s squad lose a heartbreaker in the qualifier final to Ireland.
Then in November the team failed to qualify for the Olympics, losing to South Korea in a stunning overtime loss that was again difficult to watch.

Watching the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan unfold was quite the treat. The popular fanzone put on by the Hong Kong Rugby Union at Central harbourfront was a bonus for the city during the tournament.
Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay capped an incredible Cinderella season by rising from the cellar of the HKRU Premiership to climb all the way to be crowned championship winners.
Watching that final game in the rain at King’s Park and interviewing the elated players afterwards was a particular highlight.

 CrossFit was a big part of SCMP Sport’s coverage this year. I attended April’s CrossFit “Sanctional” – the Asia CrossFit Championship, and then two more this winter – the Pandaland CrossFit Challenge in Chengdu and the Dubai CrossFit Championship.
I’m still not entirely sure what to make of CrossFit as a spectator sport, but I do know that its following is one of unwavering devotees and despite its contrarians, the sport continues to expand around the world.
Something I expect to continue through 2020. Patrick Blennerhassett

Hong Kong athletes say what they mean
“Hong Kong is not China” is the often-repeated refrain of anti-government protesters but nowhere is this more apparent than in sport. Hong Kong was guaranteed sporting independence post 1997, which means our athletes are under a separate Olympic governing body and rules itself. Unlike the Hong Kong government, the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee does not answer to the mainland.

The autonomy also allows our athletes to say the kind of things that those is supposedly freer societies may be ostracised for. Olympic medal hopeful Sarah Lee Wai-sze posted an “add oil” message on social media in the summer as the anti-government protests gathered steam.
Badminton player Lee Cheuk-yiu appeared to make a gesture of support for the protesters on his way to a stunning victory in the men’s singles competition of the Hong Kong Open as street battles raged near the Hong Kong Coliseum.
It is not about being pro or anti protesters, it is about being able to say what you feel – something that Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil found to be problematic when he expressed his support for the Uygur in Xinjiang province.

Freedom of expression is a myth. However, what Sarah Lee and Lee Cheuk-yiu said in Hong Kong cannot be said in the mainland. Truly, in that sense, Hong Kong is not China. Nazvi Careem


‘Abnormally large testicles’: horse rejected from Hong Kong goes on sale

Douglas Whyte’s touch transforms frustrating duo at Happy Valley

Where have John Moore’s best horses gone? Hong Kong’s biggest stable changes ahead of a new season

John Moore lands first winner as an Australian trainer with his first runner at Newcastle

John Moore

Hong Kong protests, Tokyo 2020 rugby failure and John Moore’s Aethero mark 2019 in sport

Fireworks over Victoria Harbour to celebrate the Lunar New Year – 2019 has been a year packed with action, heartbreak and highlights. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk-yiu celebrates his victory with a "special gesture" after a match against Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin at Hong Kong Coliseum on November 13, 2019.

***PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE REUSE*** James Somers Eve carries 45kg around LT70, a kilo for everyone lost by his father to cancer. Photo: PhotoGuava PhotoGuava

***FOR NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY*** Ireland (in green) wins the Men's Qualifier Final against Hong Kong on the last day of HK Sevens 2019 at Hong Kong Stadium. 07APR19 R7 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Race 7, Computer Patch, ridden by Zac Purton, won the Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup(class 3, 1200m) at Sha Tin on 21Dec19. Trainer John Moore celebrated with his son George. 21DEC19

Sarah Lee Wai-sze finished in fifth place in the women's keirin finals of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O.

AETHERO galloping on the turf at Sha Tin on 05Dec19.

Sara Sigmundsdottir.

Trail running photo by Alan Li. The award-winning photo of Nikki Han letting out a war cry after completing her gruelling race. Photo by Alan Li.

Japanese fans watching the Japan vs South Africa match, at the Rugby World Cup 2019 fanzone in Central. 20OCT19 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong racing’s turbulent 2019: Conghua success, meetings plagued by unrest and the best of the best

Beat The Clock takes out the Hong Kong Sprint. Photos: Kenneth Chan

Lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu Ho holds a press conference at the Legco building in Tamar. 02AUG19 SCMP/ May Tse

Jockey Douglas Whyte bids farewell with racing fans at Sha Tin Racecourse. The 47-year-old jockey will hang up his riding boots to join the training ranks in Hong Kong. 10FEB19

Hong Kong International Races 2019: Racing fans at Sha Tin HKIR. 08DEC19

Punters watching race 2 when Management Star ridden by Vincent Ho Chak-yiu won the class 5 over 1600m at Sha Tin Racecourse. 07FEB19.

Siobhan Haughey named 2019 Asian Female Swimmer of the Year by SwimSwam

Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey is a medal hope at next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Photo: AP

Daiya Seto celebrates after his swim in the the men's 400-meter individual medley during an International Swimming League event Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey competes in the semi-final of the women's 200m freestyle event during the swimming competition at the 2019 World Championships at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, South Korea, on July 23, 2019. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT / AFP)

‘There are 14 broken hearts’: Hong Kong Rugby Union licks wounds after crushing loss to South Korea leaves Olympic dream in tatters

Russell Webb taking on South Korea. He was injured in the first half of the final. Photo: HKRU

Hong Kong vs Chinese Taipei during the pool game of Asia Rugby Men's 7s Qualification Tournament For Tokyo 2020 at Namdong Asiad Stadium, Namdong, Incheon, on 23 November 2019, South Korea. Photo by : Ike Li / Ike Images

Canada's Ben Lesage, is tackled during the 2019 Japan Rugby Union World Cup qualifying match between Canada and Hong Kong, in Marseille, southern France, Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Women's 15s team.

A screenshot of China MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong taking on tai chi master Wei Lei. Photo: Handout

Nov 2, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock puts the BMF belt on Jorge Masvidal (red gloves) after Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz (blue gloves) during UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Sarah Stier-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 30: WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr's. trainer and father Floyd Mayweather Sr. speaks during a news conference ahead of the unification fight between his son and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on April 30, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two boxers will face each other on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Nate Diaz of the United States fights against Jorge Masvidal (not pictured) of the United States in the Welterweight "BMF" championship bout during UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden on November 02, 2019 in New York City. Steven Ryan/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Cosmo Alexandre winds up an overhand against Sage Northcutt.

Xu Xiaodong guide a Chinese fighter in an amateur championship in Ukraine organized by International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) in May. Photo: HANDOUT [FEATURES 2018]

***PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE*** Wing chun master Ding Hao (pictured) taunts MMA Fighter A Hu .

Top 20 Asian MMA fighters for 2020, part 1: UFC, One Championship stars fill spots 20-16

Shinya Aoki celebrates on the ramp after beating Honorio Banario in Tokyo. Photo: One Championship

Eduard Folayang kicks Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu

Shoko Sato ahead of his One Championship fight in Tokyo.

Shinya Aoki celebrates his win

Sport

Hong Kong


This was a year to remember for racing’s John Moore, trail runner James Somers Eve and outspoken Hong Kong athletes
Aethero’s promise on the track matched by city’s runners on the trails and CrossFit’s boom



Aethero’s promise on the track matched by city’s runners on the trails and CrossFit’s boom.


IOC (International Olympic Committee)

Japan

Badminton World Federation (BWF)

Hong Kong Sevens

Rugby World Cup 2019

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Opinion

Opinion | Hong Kong protests, Tokyo 2020 rugby failure and John Moore’s Aethero mark 2019 in sport

This was a year to remember for racing’s John Moore, trail runner James Somers Eve and outspoken Hong Kong athletes Aethero’s promise on the track matched by city’s runners on the trails and CrossFit’s boom

This was a year to remember for racing’s John Moore, trail runner James Somers Eve and outspoken Hong Kong athletes

Aethero’s promise on the track matched by city’s runners on the trails and CrossFit’s boom