Integration and breakthrough on the shores of Victoria Harbor, the National Games triathlon delivered perfect results

As the last runner of the mixed relay event crossed the finish line, the triathlon competition of the 15th National Games came to an end at the Central Harbourfront in Hong Kong. This is the first time in the history of the National Games that a triathlon event has been held in Hong Kong, and it is also an innovative practice for a national comprehensive sports event to be held in Hong Kong.

Qin Jianqiu, secretary-general of the China Triathlon Association, said in an interview that the event is closely coordinated by the association and the Hong Kong Triathlon Federation, with professional coordination, efficient collaboration and innovative practices to ensure a smooth and exciting event. It demonstrates the vitality of the triathlon sport and writes a new chapter in the integrated development of triathlon in the Mainland and Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" principle.

Talent projects are booming

The triathlon event of this National Games set a new record for the scale of participation. 90 athletes from 18 representative units competed on the same stage. The number of participating units and athletes was the highest ever. The age span of the contestants ranges from a 15-year-old teenager to the 41-year-old Macau veteran Xu Lang, to the 39-year-old Public Security Sports Association athlete Bai Faquan competing in the fifth National Games, demonstrating the broad audience base and lasting vitality of triathlon. Among them, young athletes under the age of 19 accounted for 43%, indicating a prosperous future for the development of the project.

The competitive level of the competition has achieved significant breakthroughs. Qin Jianqiu commented: The competitive ability of the national team athletes has improved rapidly in recent years, especially in cycling, which has broken the previous passive pattern of "waiting for success" and made the competition faster and more suspenseful. In the men's and mixed relay competitions, the number of athletes and units capable of winning medals increased significantly. In the end, in all three events, 3 units won gold medals, 6 units were on the podium, and 12 units entered the top eight. The national triathlon competition became more intense.

Antonio Arimani, President of the World Triathlon Federation, spoke highly of the mixed relay race after watching it. He looks forward to Hong Kong hosting more high-level international events in the future, and is deeply impressed by the significant improvement in the competitive abilities of Chinese triathletes. He also looks forward to Chinese athletes achieving greater breakthroughs at the Los Angeles Olympics.

A city landmark transformed into a professional track

The triathlon event has high requirements for the venue, which must meet the competition standards of swimming, cycling, and running at the same time, and must also take into account supporting requirements such as spectator viewing and event security. Faced with the current venue situation in Hong Kong where “every inch of land is at a premium” and the professional demands of triathlon events, event venue selection faces huge challenges. After many on-site surveys, the organizing committee finally selected the Central Harbourfront and Victoria Harbor as the core venues to achieve a high degree of fit between the urban landscape and the needs of the event. The water quality of the natural sea meets the standards of the World Iron Federation, providing an ideal venue for swimming events; the surrounding roads form a closed-loop design through temporary traffic control to meet the professional requirements of cycling and running events; at the same time, relying on the location advantage of being close to the city center, it effectively balances the audience viewing experience and the convenient dispatch of event support resources, thus making it one of the most lively events of the National Games in Hong Kong.

As the first triathlon event in the National Games to adopt double transition areas, the size and construction difficulty of venue facilities are far greater than before. In order to minimize the impact on the surrounding ecological environment and residents' lives, all facilities adopt a "modular and detachable" temporary design. Qin Jianqiu said that since the construction started on November 3, it only took 9 days to complete the construction of all functional areas such as the swimming starting platform, transition area, finishing area and broadcast comprehensive area. It not only meets the standards of professional events, but also becomes a unique window to showcase the image of Hong Kong city.

Working together across domains to ensure a smooth event

The successful hosting of an event involves a wide range of departments, covering comprehensive coordination, transportation support, medical emergency and other fields. It requires cross-regional and cross-system collaboration. Nearly a hundred docking coordination meetings have witnessed the overcoming of difficulties in the preparatory stage. Qin Jianqiu introduced that the innovative dual-personnel working mechanism has become a highlight of collaboration. In key positions such as medical representatives, referees, and team leaders, personnel from both places are jointly responsible, which not only ensures unified command, but also fully mobilizes local resources in Hong Kong.

Technological empowerment further enhances the fairness of the event. The upgraded video surveillance system achieves full coverage of key stages, leading groups and key links. It combines technologies such as arbitration video and athlete on-board cameras to build a triple guarantee mechanism of "on-site refereeing + video playback + arbitration review". Hong Kong and mainland technical officials jointly officiated, unified standards, and strictly enforced disciplines, ultimately achieving "zero protests and zero complaints" in the event, pushing the level of competition organization and refereeing work of the National Games to a new height.

Sports bridge connects the people of the two places

"This sports event in Hong Kong is not only a stage for competition, but also a bridge connecting the people of Hong Kong and the mainland." Qin Jianqiu said that the staff of the two places were deeply integrated in the organization of the event, overcoming differences in work habits and other aspects, and transformed the initial "sense of distance" into mutual recognition through close collaboration. From repeated consultations in the preparatory stage to efficient cooperation during the competition, all parties have accumulated experience in practice and established a long-term working mechanism, laying a solid foundation for sports and cultural exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

From riding through the waves of Victoria Harbor to sprinting hard on the Central Harbourfront, the 15th National Games Triathlon came to an end in Hong Kong and opened up a broader future for China’s triathlon.

"The National Games Triathlon allows us to see Hong Kong's excellent ability to host events, and also see the growth and development of China's triathlon - faster pace, stronger confrontation, and more young athletes standing out." Qin Jianqiu said that China's triathlon is steadily opening a new stage full of vitality and accelerating growth.