Swimmers race across Hong Kong's Victoria Bay

HONG KONG — More than a 1000 men and women plunged into the chill h2o of Hong Kong’s Victoria Bay connected Sunday morning, competing to spot who could aquatics the fastest crossed the harbor successful unfastened water.

The New World Harbour Race, which was suspended the past 2 years owed to the pandemic and the 2019 anti-government protests, was held Sunday with a constricted tract of 1,200 swimmers. The one-kilometer (0.62 mile) contention went from Wan Chai connected the bluish enactment of Hong Kong Island to Tsim Sha Tsui successful Kowloon.

In their bluish caps, the swimmers were disposable arsenic a flurry of splashes and limbs arsenic they moved crossed the bay.

Keith Sin, who won successful the men’s category, said helium took the ferry to Wan Chai to scope retired the way and made ample preparations to recognize the water currents.

“After the determination scouting, I searched for much photos of the way astatine night. Then I laid retired a way connected erstwhile to marque turns,” helium said.

For immoderate participants, the champion portion of the contention was conscionable feeling similar beingness was mean again amid the pandemic.

“It’s a accidental to spot Hong Kong from a antithetic perspective,” said Vincent, a subordinate successful the leisure aquatics class who gave lone his archetypal name. “So yeah, large experience. Nice to spot Hong Kong opening up a small and having mean beingness again.”

To participate, swimmers had to beryllium afloat vaccinated and instrumentality a COVID-19 trial 2 days earlier the race.

Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan