Since leaving Kellett in 2017 where he was Deputy Head Boy, Jason Ng Hardcastle (OK 2014-17) - known to all by his nickname Long Long - has concentrated on his athletics career. We caught up with him (during his 21 days of hotel quarantine after competing in Japan) to find out what sporting life is like during Covid.

Tell us about your recent sporting success.  

I placed 7th in the Elite Men’s category at the end of May in Japan at the 2021 Asian Triathlon Championships. It was my first time racing at the top level at Asian Championships against full time pros, so it was quite a good learning experience for me. 

My goal was to place in the Top 8 which I managed, so I’m happy with my performance. In summer of 2019 I won Gold at the All China Youth Games in the Individual Triathlon race and my team won Gold in the Mixed Team Relay Triathlon. 

What attracts you to triathlons?  

I love pushing myself to the limit and seeing what I’m capable of and, in my opinion, triathlon is a tough sport, so it allows me to do that almost every day. Another thing I really enjoy is the fact that triathlon is actually three different sports which means I hardly ever get bored as training isn’t as repetitive as it might be if I were only training for one sport. 

When did your interest begin?

I actually fell into triathlon by accident. I was always an active child and enjoyed sports, so my mother suggested that I try triathlons when I was around 9 years old, but I was (at the time) not interested. It wasn’t until Year 7 when I was asked to run cross country at my previous school by my PE teacher that I realised I actually enjoyed running. By the end of Year 8, I started running with a group which turned out to be a triathlon club, so I made the decision to learn to pool swim properly and got my first road bike to begin cycling sessions. My first multi sport race was in 2014, and I’ve loved it ever since.

Have you any events coming up?

Sadly with the current Covid situation, there isn’t much racing so nothing on the immediate horizon for now. There is a slim possibility we may be able to race at the ITU Grand Final World Championships in Edmonton, Canada in August 2021 however this is to be confirmed, pending Covid restrictions. Beyond this, assuming everything goes ahead, in September our team will compete in the All China Games in Xian. 

Are you currently studying as well?

I took two gap years for the sole purpose of being able to do triathlon full time and see how it went. Unfortunately, between the political protests and Covid, I haven’t been able to race for the last 19 months. 

As a full time athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, I’m only allowed a maximum of 10 hours/week of school so this September 2021, I’ll begin my Mechanical Engineering degree at HKUST on a part-time basis while I continue to train full time.

We wish Jason all the best and hope he gets to race soon! Below are some photos of Jason at Kellett.