Kampar, Malaysia, July 12, 2024: Adrian Au Ho-chun has a dream that in 2032 he will be able to follow in the footsteps of Hong Kong Olympian Jason Ng Tai-long and compete at the Olympic Games.
The 14-year-old Diocesan Boys School schoolboy, together with Jessie Wong Lok-tung, are the two young Hong Kong athletes participating in the first-ever Olympic Council of Asia World Triathlon/Asian Triathlon Youth Development Camp in Kampar, Malaysia this week.
Adrian has set his sights on emulating Jason Ng who will be one of the six athletes from Asia competing in the triathlon events at the Paris 2024 Olympics which gets underway later this month.
“I don’t think the next Olympics in 2028 (Los Angeles) will be a realistic target for me. I am looking at the 2032 Games in Brisbane as my goal. I hope I can be like Jason and follow him. He is my role model,” says Adrian, who is also accompanied by coach Ling Lau-tsun.
Adrian turns 15 next month. In 2032, he will be 23 years old and in the prime of his triathlon career. By being picked to represent Hong Kong at this residential camp, he has, perhaps, already been singled out as an athlete who has the potential to go all the way.
All 25 Asian National Olympic Committees invited to participate by the OCA in Kampar were able to send two athletes – a boy and a girl aged between 14 and 17 years – and one coach for the eight-day camp.
“My coaches told me I was going to Malaysia. It was great news for me and I hope I can learn a lot from this camp, and also make a lot of new friends from other countries,” Adrian said.
Adrian, who trains at the Hong Kong Sports Institute for three hours after school every day, has been involved in triathlon for the last seven years. “I know how to swim and I like running, which is my best discipline. So I decided to take up triathlon as I didn’t want to play other sports like football,” he reveals.
Later this year he will be hoping to compete in the Youth World Cup which will be held in Hong Kong. His other short-term goal is to take part in the Hong Kong Marathon – the 10 kilometre race.
“You have to be 16 to take part in this. But I want to run in this race,” says Adrian. It should be a piece of cake for him for after all this is the Olympic distance for triathletes.
So has he picked up any tips from Jason Ng? “I know him, but he doesn’t know me. Yet,” Adrian grins.
Photos: OCA
