Hong Kong missed 30 years of progress, wasted taxpayers’ money, triathlon coach says
‘If we did 30 years ago what we’re doing now, we could be one of the world’s best, but we’ve done nothing,’ Andrew Wright says amid reforms
The Hong Kong triathlon set-up was substandard for decades and wasted taxpayers’ money on athletes who were not good enough, according to its current head coach.
Andrew Wright said low standards for handing out funding, and lack of accountability for how public money was spent by the Triathlon Association of Hong Kong, China (TAHKC), meant the city’s progress stalled for 30 years before current chiefs got its house in order.
Wright, who has forced through changes for the coming year, said Hong Kong was left having to play catch-up with established triathlon teams.
“[Athletes] will need minimum race results to stay part of the squad,” he said. “Until now, they’ve needed to pass benchmarking times that are so substandard, because [the TAHKC] needed people for the programme, so made it as easy as possible to get in. It used to be backpackers with bikes.”
Wright said the TAHKC’s new four-year plan, geared towards the 2028 Olympics, was the first of its kind in its 40-year history.
