Hong Kong triathlete hopes coronavirus doesn’t hamper Tokyo chances

Since the outbreak of the coro­navirus, multiple reports have emerged of people of Asian origin being treated with suspicion.
(from left) Serbia’s Ognjen Stojanovic and Barbara Riveros of Chile, winners of the Triathlon Asian Cup. Sarojini Devi and Adarsh Muralidharan Nair won the National Championship titles in the event in Chennai on Sunday
(from left) Serbia’s Ognjen Stojanovic and Barbara Riveros of Chile, winners of the Triathlon Asian Cup. Sarojini Devi and Adarsh Muralidharan Nair won the National Championship titles in the event in Chennai on Sunday

CHENNAI: Since the outbreak of the coro­navirus, multiple reports have emerged of people of Asian origin being treated with suspicion. That is why Oscar Coggi­ns is thankful for his we­­­s­t­ernised looks. But as an athlete, the tricky part is when he has to travel. Born to English parents, Coggins was born and brought up in Hong Kong. “When I show my passport, a lot of questions are asked,” he said, after coming second in the Triathlon Asian Cup here. The virus has been a major issue for sportspersons and sporting events across the globe. Coggins is one of the affected athletes. It has been more than a month since the triathlete went home and he is not planning to do so any time soon.

Training in Phuket, Thailand, Coggins is taking all necessary precautions as he hopes to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo. But the 19-year-old is constantly worried about his dear ones in Hong Kong. “I pl­anned to go to Phuket anyway. But I extended the trip after the outbreak. It’s better to stay away from Hong Kong for a while. When it started in China, I was there. But I had left Ho­ng Kong before the first case th­ere. It’s been more than a month now. I hope the situation gets better so that I can go back. I grew up there and I have a lot of friends there,” Coggins said.In a way, he is also happy that he chose to train abroad. The government has placed many restrictions on public gatherings that would have impacted his training. “One of the main problems is most of the training facilities are closed in Hong Kong. I used to train at a public pool for the swimming event. Everything is closed. From schools to swimming pools. All government-run facilities are shut. The sports institute is open.

But there are a lot of precautions now. Every athlete who is training there has to get daily temperature checks.”  While he wears a mask and carries a hand sanitiser while travelling, the panic back home is scary according to him. Still recovering from the civil unrest that went on for months, the paranoia among people has increased since the outbreak. “Hong Kong was heavily hit by the SARS virus. I was only three years old when it happened. My family left Hong Kong for six months when that happened. That is still there in the back of people’s minds.” 

Results: Men 1 Ognjen Stojanovic (SRB) 01:48:47; 2. Oscar Coggins (HKG) 01:49:03; 3. Jdan Celustka (CZE) 01:49:24. Women: 1. Barbara Riveros (CHI) 02:01:07; 2. Antoanela Manac (ROU) 02:01:25; 3. Arina Shulgina (RUS) 02:01:36. National Championship: Men: 1. Adarsh Muralidharan Nair (SSCB) 01:58:01; 2. Bishworjit Saikhom (SSCB) 01:58: 42; 3. Mali Raghunath (SSCB) 02:03:15. Women: 1. Sarojini Devi Thoudam (Manipur) 02:21:20; 2. Monika Mukheshbhai Nagpure (Gujarat) 02:22:56; 3. Pragnya Mohan (Gujarat) 02:24:41.

Rough water cancels swimming phase
The Triathlon Asian Cup and the senior national championship was conducted without the swimming phase due to weather conditions here on Sunday. The rough conditions in the sea forced technical delegate Sam Wikramasinghe to take such a call because even the buoys could not be put in place for the on-sea turns. “Taking into consideration the safety aspect, we decided to skip swimming and instead added an additional 5 km of running for the start,” he said. 

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