National Games: first gold for Hong Kong as Nicholas Halliday storms to sailing glory
City’s team off mark in 15th edition of Games, as Paris Olympian handles last-day pressure for success in Guangdong
Nicholas Halliday has given Hong Kong’s National Games campaign lift-off after he claimed sailing gold in Guangdong on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Halliday needed only a top-six finish to top the standings as he headed into the last of 11 rounds of his men’s ILCA 7 discipline. He duly came home fourth in the coastal city of Shanwei to clinch the city’s first medal of the Games.
It also made Halliday the first sailing gold medallist from Hong Kong in any edition of the national multisport showpiece. Lee Lai-shan, the 1996 Olympic champion windsurfer, earned Hong Kong’s only other National Games sailing podium finish when she claimed silver in 2001.
Sailing is among a number of events to have got under way before the Games – being co-hosted by Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau – officially open on November 9.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said Halliday’s gold was “especially meaningful”, and that she hoped the city’s delegation would “continue to unleash their potential and achieve remarkable results in other events”.