Hong Kong’s continued failings in athletics bring only silence from sport’s bosses
Chairman of city’s governing body Kwan Kee declines to discuss subject, while Sports Institute says its approach is ‘on track’
Hong Kong’s athletics chief has refused to answer any questions about the sport’s struggles to produce elite performers, despite receiving tens of millions of dollars in funding from the government.
The last Hongkongers to qualify for the Olympics in athletics were Christy Yiu Kit-ching and Ching Siu-nga, in women’s marathon and racewalking, who made it to Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021, respectively.
While Tiffany Yue Nga-yan won bronze at last year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, her one-off leap of 6.50 metres was a distance she had not jumped before, nor has done since. It was also significantly below the mark needed to reach this summer’s Paris Olympics.
As with other Tier A sports, athletics receives significant government funding every year, with some HK$20 million handed over in 2023-24 alone for training and athlete support.
The Post reached out to the Hong Kong, China Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA) for comment in mid-October, asking the local body about its talent identification procedure and development programme.
Officials were also asked why the city’s athletes trailed its neighbours in terms of development; whether the city had good enough facilities; and whether coaches in Hong Kong were of a sufficiently high level to produce runners, throwers and jumpers who could consistently compete regionally and international.
