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Paul McNamara

Asia Triathlon Cup races might inhabit the lowest rung of the competitive ladder, but Andrew Wright has told his Hong Kong squad that Saturday’s event in Malaysia is “as serious as they come”.
Oscar Coggins and Bailee Brown will lead the city’s charge in Putrajaya, as the pair begin working towards an Asian Games in September that could shape their 2028 Olympic hopes.
Wright’s athletes will have a sterner test at next month’s World Cup leg on Hainan Island, but the head coach said: “Any race where you’re using taxpayers’ money to fund the team to go, you have to put in 100 per cent effort and take it seriously.
“We’re at the end of a training block and have done no race-specific training, but I need to see people stepping up, being professional, delivering maximum effort and showing they can compete.”
Last year’s laser-eyed focus on the National Games came at the cost of world ranking points.

Coggins, for example, is currently dwelling in a No 141 position that does not reflect the ability of an athlete who has made significant strides since finishing 33rd in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“To get on start lists for Olympic qualification, we need points, so again, that’s why I’m keeping pressure on people,” Wright said.
Jason Ng Tai-long, the Paris 2024 Olympian, and Robin Elg, part of the city’s National Games silver medal relay squad, will both miss Malaysia because of injury.
Elg is suffering with a bone stress reaction, leaving doubts over whether he will join the squad’s one-month altitude camp at Yunnan province on mainland China from Lunar New Year.
“We’re reviewing his MRI scans, then will determine whether it’s a smart move to have him up in camp, or whether he should stay back for support at Hong Kong Sports Institute,” Wright said.
Ng will sidestep Yunnan because of university commitments, but Wright said he was not concerned about the 25-year-old potentially losing more ground on gun pair Coggins and Elg.
“He’s playing catch-up at university from all the time he had to take off for the last Olympics,” Wright said. “[Yunnan] is not essential for him, but going into the Olympic qualification period from May, anybody who’s interested in going must be at full-training capacity.”
On that note, Wright said the rest of his squad had “fully bought into” regular camps in Yunnan, roughly 1,630 metres (5,350 feet) above sea level.
“Everyone agrees with me that over the two years before the National Games we got outworked,” he said. “You could see it when we got to Yunnan last year; they were doing bigger sessions than us … to reach that level, you need to be in camp most of the year.”

Still, with National Games breakout star Cade Wright and twin sister Tallulah studying in Edinburgh, and Pauline Courret at university in the Netherlands, the women’s team in Malaysia will feature just Brown and Hilda Choi Yan-yin.
Andrew Wright said the prospect of Cade Wright, who is no relation to the coach, deferring her final university year was “still in discussion”, but any decision would be delayed until she had qualified for the Asian Games.
“It’s where you score most points for the Olympics, so if you don’t qualify, your chances of going are very small,” Andrew Wright said.
Charlotte Hall, part of Hong Kong’s mixed-relay bronze team from the Asian Games in 2023, is now living and studying Australia while she recovers from an injury and focuses “on herself and getting better”.
While Hall is not part of the Hong Kong squad, Andrew Wright said he believed “someone as dedicated and determined as her will get back to it.”
Brown was plagued by injury last year, but finished on a high with National Games relay silver.
“She’s flying, knocking sessions back … and in a great frame of mind,” Wright said. “I hope that’s reflected this weekend. She’s in a very strong position to be qualifying for the Olympics.”


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Hong Kong squad warned that Asia Triathlon Cup races are ‘as serious as they come’

Bailee Brown (far left) and Oscar Coggins (second right), here with Robin Elg and Cade Wright after claiming National Games silver, will lead the Hong Kong charge in Malaysia on Saturday. Photo: Eugene Lee

Robin Elg could miss a squad camp in Yunnan as he manages a bone stress reaction. Photo: Eugene Lee

Oscar Coggins, here on his way to National Games individual bronze, is hunting ranking points. Photo: Eugene Lee

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Ronnie O’Sullivan lines up a shot during his victory over Joe O’Connor at World Grand Prix in Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua

Ronnie O’Sullivan is hoping the snooker gods stay on his side for a while to come. Photo: AFP

Jak Jones on his way to a comprehensive victory over defending champion Neil Robertson. Photo: Xinhua

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Clarissa Lyra savouring the ‘unique and fun’ experience of competing The Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show. Photo: Elson Li

The 21-year-old Clarissa Lyra competing in the 2018 Longines Masters of Hong Kong. Photo: David Wong

Sport

Hong Kong

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Head coach Andrew Wright tells triathletes they owe it to taxpayers to take their ‘A’ games to Malaysia, as launch pad to 2028 Olympics


Head coach Andrew Wright tells triathletes they owe it to taxpayers to take their ‘A’ games to Malaysia, as launch pad to 2028 Olympics.


Hong Kong squad warned that Asia Triathlon Cup races are ‘as serious as they come’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Head coach Andrew Wright tells triathletes they owe it to taxpayers to take their ‘A’ games to Malaysia, as launch pad to 2028 Olympics

Head coach Andrew Wright tells triathletes they owe it to taxpayers to take their ‘A’ games to Malaysia, as launch pad to 2028 Olympics