700 swimmers left stranded after strong currents force early end to Victoria Harbour Race

The Victoria Harbour Race on Sunday ended in chaos and disappointment for almost 800 swimmers, after organisers cancelled the final waves of amateur competitors and even pulled some from the water with the finish line in sight.

With the 10.30am cut-off time fast approaching, the fourth batch of leisure swimmers, numbering around 700, were left on dry land when organisers pulled the plug at 9.20am, some 20 minutes after the waves of the race’s slowest entrants were scheduled to start.

Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, president of the Hong Kong China Swimming Association, blamed the speed and direction of underwater currents for bringing an early end to the race, which takes competitors on a one-kilometre route from Wan Chai to Tsim Tsa Tsui.

While the elite swimmers were significantly faster than last year, with men’s winner Keith Sin Chin-ting crossing the distance almost two minutes faster, Wong said it became apparent during the second and third batches that there would be a problem meeting the time by which they had to hand the course back to the Marine Department.

“Today was very calm on the surface, but we cannot control how the current flows and its direction,” he said. “When the second and third batches started going in, we realised they were swept away quite far.

“We are afraid of operating [the race] overtime because we have a time limitation to use the Victoria Harbour to hold the race, so I am very sorry.”

Wong said the governing body would refund the HK$650 participation fee and consider giving those left stranded priority entry next year, provided they met the qualifying standards.

There was no word on whether that would also apply to the swimmers pulled from the water by a flotilla of craft hastily pressed into service by organisers.

Among those who did not even get wet was Howard Liu, from Beijing, who spent more than HK$6,000 on flights and hotels just to take part.

“I felt it was reasonable that the organiser cancelled the race due to safety concerns, but I think they need to tell participants what happened more promptly and what the follow-up arrangements would be,” he said.

Liu said the situation at the venue was orderly, and that coaches arrived quickly to take affected swimmers from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui, where they could collect their belongings. Staff handed out water and thermal blankets, although some swimmers were unhappy about the long wait for the race.

Another affected swimmer, who identified himself as H Wong, 65, said he had taken part in the race about 10 times and had never before seen a batch cancelled.

“It cannot be helped, and the organisers also want safety,” he said. “I have asked many swimmers, and they all said the currents were strong. So, I think it was a right decision to cancel the batch.”

In the elite racing group, Hong Kong’s Rita Nip Tsz-yin defended her women’s title, finishing in a time of 16 minutes and 55.1 seconds. It was her third cross-harbour triumph.

Men’s winner Sin, meanwhile, cruised home in 15:35, well ahead of his 2025 time of 17:48.6.

While the 31-year-old was competing for a seventh time, 14-year-old Merrick Lo Hoi-chuen made his debut in a group containing the day’s youngest competitors.

“I rarely swim long or middle distances in the pool, but I felt good, and I had a sense of success when I caught up with other swimmers in the sea,” Lo said.