42 Qualify for 3km Wheelchair Race @ Hong Kong Marathon 2013

A total of 33 registrants attended the trial for the 3km wheelchair race of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2013 at the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground.

31 qualified for the 3km wheelchair race which will take place on Sunday, 24 February. The race will therefore feature a total of 42 participants including 11 who completed the same race last year and are consequently exempted from the trial.

As part of its commitment to ensure diversity through inclusion and building on the support from the participants and other parties last year, the organizer has once again incorporated the 3km wheelchair race in the event while a Half Marathon wheelchair race has been introduced to replace the Marathon wheelchair race.

William Ko, Chairman of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2013 Organizing Committee said, "We had a thorough evaluation and assessment on the race arrangement after receiving feedback from various parties. After a detailed discussion, the organizer decided to replace the Marathon wheelchair race with the Half Marathon wheelchair race. The race route of the 3km wheelchair race will be rerouted by reducing 1 lap in Wan Chai Sports Ground and incorporating Convention Avenue as part of the route."

Regarding the safety and the route of the race, Mr. Ko said, "Safety of our participants is our top priority. With our experience of last year, safety measures will be further enhanced. We once again invited Mr. Yukio Seki, technical official of International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the technical adviser of the wheelchair race of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2013. He will advise on the overall logistics and accessibility of the race route for wheelchair participants."

The Half Marathon Wheelchair Race will begin at 05:30. The course will begin on Nathan Road, TST (near The Mira Hong Kong hotel) - West Kowloon Highway - Tsing Kwai Highway (U-turn) - West Kowloon Highway - Western Harbour Crossing -Connaught Road West Flyover - Man Kwong Street - Lung Wo Road - Convention Avenue - Lockhart Road and finish at Victoria Park, Hong Kong.

The 3km Wheelchair Race will begin at 06:30. The course will start at Wan Chai Sports Ground -Convention Avenue -Marsh Road Flyover and finish at Victoria Park, Hong Kong.

See also: Pictures of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2013 - Page 1 of 8.

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