‘World-class’: 10km record obliterated as Hong Kong’s Wong Wan-chun beats it by 1 minute 14 seconds
- Hong Kong record had been 30 minutes and 41 seconds, but it is now 29.27 after Wong’s stunning race in Gold Coast, Australia
- Wong, who trains under Bernard Lagat’s long-time coach in Shanghai, last month broke the city’s half-marathon best, too
It would be understating it to say that Wong Wan-chun beat his own Hong Kong 10km record in Australia on Sunday. He destroyed it, shaving a staggering one minute and 14 seconds off the previous mark.
Wong finished second in the Southern Cross University 10km Run in Gold Coast in 29 minutes and 27 seconds, erasing his previous mark of 30.41 from the record books. Only Isaac Heyne of Australia was in front of him, finishing 24 seconds faster.
For comparison, the biggest slice anyone has taken off the men’s world record for 10km is 34 seconds, in 1966, and on only a handful of occasions has anyone bettered it by more than 20 seconds.
It is the second city record Wong has broken in a matter of weeks.
“Breaking 30 minutes is another level – I can say he is world-class now,” said Gi Ka-man, whose half-marathon record Wong beat only last month in San Diego.
The Australian race resumed this year after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, with the 10km drawing an entry of more than 3,700 runners. Wong clocked 14.39 for the first 5km and 14.48 for the second.
