Hong Kong Rower Winne HUNG qualifies for Tokyo Olympics
Following the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta held at the Sea Forest Olympic rowing venue in Tokyo from 5 – 7 May, Hong Kong sculler Winne HUNG Wing Yan has achieved a qualifying place in Women’s Single Sculls for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The qualification event brought together 50 crews from 18 countries, racing in four events, with a total of 16 qualifying places available for the Games. A maximum of two places were available for a country winning more than one gold medal, and just one for other countries achieving a high enough ranking within the total quota for each event.
Racing conditions were challenging, with competition cancelled due to bad weather on the first day and all events subsequently compressed into two days. Racing a semi-final and final just hours apart, Winne HUNG won the B Final to place 7th overall and finish with a final quota ranking of 5th – taking the last of 5 Olympic tickets in her event.
Head Coach, Chris PERRY, was satisfied with the result: –
“Racing as a lightweight rower in the open-class singles is not easy. Before the retirement of LEE Ka Man we had been focused on the lightweight doubles event. Winne had a tough race to win the B Final and we are delighted that she has achieved a place for Tokyo. There is still a lot of work to do before the Games however.”
Winne (22) was recruited through the Hong Kong, China Rowing Association’s Talent Identification Programme in 2016 and became a full-time athlete at Hong Kong Sports Institute in 2017. She finished 8th in the open single at the Asian Games in 2018 and 6th at the World U.23 Championships in 2019 before becoming World Coastal Champion in the women’s quad the same year. Earlier this year she placed 2nd in U.23 at the World Indoor Championships.
Mr. NG Kong Wan, HKCRA Chairman, commented: –
“We are delighted that Winne has stepped up following the retirement of our longest serving athlete Lee Ka Man. She is a great example of our next generation of young athletes and the experience of competing at an Olympic Games will be a huge incentive for her to strive for even more success in the future. We are all very proud of her.”
Hong Kong has been represented in Rowing at every Olympic Games since Barcelona in 1992.
