Hong Kong’s triathletes have been told they have a “responsibility to step up” when their Asian Games qualifying chase accelerates in mainland China on Saturday.

Andrew Wright, the head coach, has deliberately set the qualification bar high, with his athletes needing a podium finish, and to come home ahead of their teammates, at the Lianyungang Asia Triathlon Cup leg to book their ticket to September’s Games. There is extra incentive in that Lianyungang offers the first opportunity to bank 2028 Olympic qualifying points.

“We want the same thing from all the athletes, which is to be competitive and fight for Asian Games auto-qualification,” Wright said.

“They should be relatively fit by now, they’ve had a lot of warning since we released the [Asian Games qualifying] criteria, so it’s everyone’s responsibility to step up.”

Of the city squad’s big guns, only Robin Elg and Cade Wright are missing from the races in Jiangsu. Plagued by a shin complaint since last November’s National Games, Elg is targeting a return for June’s Asia Super Sprint Championship, which both doubles as Hong Kong’s last Games selection race, and offers a bundle of Olympic points.

“He’s training well and in good spirits, but we’ll decide [whether he competes next month] closer to the time,” Wright said. “If other athletes do well and get the auto-qualifications, there might not be a spot for him because he hasn’t done any of the races.”