Olympic triathlon star Coggins emerging from ‘black hole’, talks about ‘crushing’ Asian Games, mental health treatment
- Oscar Coggins was 33rd in the Tokyo Olympics, aged 21, the finest Games performance by a Hong Kong triathlete
- The 24-year-old is recovering from an extended period blighted by injury and illness, talking to clinical psychologist to mitigate stress
As he sank into “a black hole of disappointment and frustration”, Oscar Coggins needed all his Olympian resolve to rationalise a creeping hatred of triathlon.
A brutal, uncompromising sport showed no mercy during a 18 dispiriting months when Coggins said he felt like Sisyphus, fruitlessly rolling his boulder up a hill in Greek mythology.
The hammer blow was delivered at last September’s Asian Games. Coggins emerged from the swimming leg of the race in Hangzhou, peeled off his wetsuit, and quit. Andrew Wright, Hong Kong’s head coach, said Coggins “was not in a good place mentally or physically”.
Coggins, who finished 33rd in the Tokyo Olympics, the best Games result for a Hong Kong triathlete, promptly stepped back from a sport he sacrificed much for in his pursuit of success.
The 24-year-old, whose family lives in England, remained in Hong Kong during the pandemic, missing a series of important events, including having to watch his grandmother’s funeral on a Zoom link.
