Hong Kong’s Oscar Coggins took bronze on Saturday in the men’s individual triathlon event at the National Games, clocking one hour, 49 minutes, and 21 seconds.

The race took place in Victoria Harbour and along the Central Harbourfront .

Henan’s Fan Junjie won gold, while Chen Qing from Liaoning took silver.

Coggins said he was really happy to win a medal in front of the home crowd, especially at the National Games.

“We had a plan in the race to try and make a small group to compete for the medals from the start of the swim. I think we executed the plan really well,” he said.

“As soon as we got out of the water, I think there was six to eight athletes who had a chance of a medal or who are working on the bike together. And then on the run, I just tried to do my best possible time.”

Coggins also thanked the enthusiastic local supporters, saying their cheers boosted his final sprint.

He urged fans to cheer for the SAR team in Sunday’s mixed relay, which will take place at 2 pm, promising a strong performance.

Teammates Robin Elg came seventh and Wong Tsz-to 18th.

In the women’s event, Cade Wright narrowly missed out on a podium spot.

She finished fourth with a time of two hours, one minute, and 25 seconds, while Huang Anqi of the China Public Security Sports Association won gold, completing the race in under two hours.

Lin Xinyu took silver, and her Sichuan teammate Wei Wen bronze.

Despite trailing Wei by 22 seconds, Wright said she was pleased with her performance.

“I never thought I would finish in the top five. My swimming result was my career best. I didn’t expect to be in the front pack. I’m really delighted with finishing fourth,” she said.

“My focus is on the mixed relay race because we have high medal hopes, and I treated the individual race as a warm-up because my swimming ability is not great. But over the summer, I practised a lot because I know the mainland Chinese athletes are really fast.”

Teammate Bailee Brown did not finish the race after being lapped during the bike section, while three-time National Games veteran Hilda Choi was disqualified after initially placing ninth.

The individual triathlon consists of a 1.5 km swim, a 37.8 km cycle ride, and a 10 km run.