Race Media

Records, crazy pace as Japan, Nepal and Hong Kong take medals – Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship

HONG KONG, Dec 2, 2023 – Japan’s Omi 竜之介 Ryunosuke 近江and Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha grabbed gold medals for the Skyrace distance at Saturday’s Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship and lowered the 27km course records in record time.

“Domo Arigato, thank you for good organization and good course. Very nice course. Thank you Bupa Global and Action Asia Events” said Japan’s Ryunosuke grabbing gold in a new blistering record of 2 hours 40 minutes 45 seconds for the 27km Men’s Skyrace distance.

Silver went to Hajimi 肇 Kasagi 笠木 of Japan in 2 hours 45 minutes 25 seconds with Kulung Arjun Rai of Nepal taking Bronze in 2 hours 56 minutes 20 seconds.

"Very hard and technical course with beautiful Hong Kong views and happy to get gold for Nepal at the Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship. Great seeing other strong countries” said Sunmaya Budha crossing the line in new course record for the 27km Women’s Skyrace distance of 3 hours 7 minutes 40 seconds to get the gold medal.

The Silver medal went to Takamura Takako of Japan in 3 hours 24 minutes 59 seconds and bronze going to Suzuha 楠田 Kusuda 涼葉 of Japan in 3 hours 28 minutes 48 seconds.

In the Ultra Skymarathon 51km category, records may have fallen further had it not been for a landslide before race and the cutting of a 3km section which is difficult to tell how close, but with ‘Crazy Kai’ printed on his bib, you know the Japanese runner had a reputation for not being normal and pushing a ‘crazy’ pace. Kai Hiroki of Japan did just that with a phenomenal performance taking gold in 5 hours 43 minutes 35 seconds

“My legs took a beating as a lot of stone steps, but very happy and thank you Action Asia and Bupa for making this happen said gold medalist Kai Hiroki of Japan.

Silver went Otagiri Shoma of Japan in 5 hours 52 minutes 4 seconds. There was a full-on battle for bronze with a sprint the last few hundred meters with Chan 陳 Ka Keung 家強 of Hong Kong finished in 6 hours 14 minutes 14 seconds just 2 seconds ahead of 4^th place Japanese athlete Shoma Maruyama.

51km Ultra Skymarathon Women Edamoto 枝元 Kanako 香菜子 claimed gold for Japan in 7 hours 6 minutes 52 seconds while silver went to Hong Kongs’ Cheung 張 Man Yee 敏怡 ( 07:14:33) and the bronze medal going to Wakabayashi 若林 Aya 綾 of Japan finishing in 07:21:46.

 For the Mongolia athletes there was celebration with 2 athletes in the top 5 overall of the 27km Skyrace category which was rewarding considering the massive temperature difference at the moment with temperatures in Ulaanbaatar at a low this past week of -27c compared to Hong Kong’s average of 23c-25c (a difference of around 50c!!!).

"As a leading global healthcare provider, we are deeply committed to nurturing a healthier and more active lifestyle for our valued customers in Hong Kong. In partnership with Action Asia at Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship, we strive not only to inspire our participants to surpass their limits but also demonstrate our dedication to promoting holistic wellbeing, sustainability, and vitality worldwide," said Dean Pollard, General Manager for Bupa Global in Middle East and Asia.

“Health and wellness are hot topics now which is fantastic. Thanks to the generous support of our title sponsor Bupa Global, this Asian Skyrunning Championship was truly exciting, record breaking and unforgettable experience in Hong Kong” said Michael Maddess, Director of Action Asia Events.

The Bupa Global Lantau 50 provides three distance categories including 16km, 27km Skyrace and 51km Ultra Skymarathon. The 51km course (formally 54km but due to landslide and closed mountain section will be shortened to 51km) will flag off 6:30am from Man Tung Road Park in Tung Chung, Lantau Island, taking runners up to Nei Lek Shan, Ngong Ping, Keung Shan ridge, Shek Pik, Lantau Peak - height 934m, Sunset Peak - height 800m, Pak Mong finishing in Tung Chung challenging even the most experienced runners with over 3,000m of elevation gain, 3,000m of elevation loss with a 12-hour cut-off.

The Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship is organized by Action Asia Events who has organized close to 300 events in the past 23 years with generous support from Royale International, Action X store, Tiger Balm, Novotel, Watsons Water, DelMonte, UFC Coconut Water, BIX Recovery, Torq, OCA, Fitz, ITRA, Action Asia Sports Academy, St Johns Ambulance.

27km Skyrace – Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship

Men

Gold -  Men – (303) Omi 竜之介 Ryunosuke 近江 - Japan - 02:40:45

Silver - Men – (302) Hajimi 肇 Kasagi 笠木 - Japan - 02:45:25

Bronze - Men (483) Kulung Arjun Rai - Nepal - 02:56:20

27km Skyrace – Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship

Women

Gold - Women (484) Budha Sunmaya – Nepal - The Northface Adventure Team 03:07:40

Silver- Women (305) Takamura Takako - Japan - 03:24:59

Bronze- Women 18-39 304 Suzuha 楠田 Kusuda 涼葉 Japan - 03:28:48

51km Ultra Skymarathon - Men Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship

Men

Gold - Men  (3) Kai Hiroki - Japan - 05:43:35

Silver - Men (2) Otagiri Shoma - Japan - 05:52:04

Bronze - Men (20) Chan 陳 Ka Keung 家強 - HKG - 06:14:14

51km Ultra Skymarathon - Men Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship

Women

Gold- Women (5) Edamoto 枝元 Kanako 香菜子 - Japan - 07:06:52

Silver - Women (16) Cheung 張 Man Yee 敏怡 - HKG - 07:14:33

Bronze-  Women (6) Wakabayashi 若林 Aya 綾 - Japan - 07:21:46

 

Overall top 5 results for 16/27/51km

Top 5 Men - 51km

1 Men 18-39 3 Kai Hiroki Japan - 05:43:35

2 Men 18-39 2 Otagiri Shoma Japan - 05:52:04

3 Men 18-39 20 Chan 陳 Ka Keung 家強 HKG - 06:14:14

4 Men 18-39 1 Maruyama Shoma Japan JSA 06:14:16

5 Men 18-39 19 Loasby Hideo Harry HKG BuffCo 06:25:50

Top 5 Women – 51km

1 Women 18-39 56 Dacier Aurore France - 07:03:00

2 Women 18-39 5 Edamoto 枝元 Kanako 香菜子 Japan - 07:06:52

3 Women 18-39 16 Cheung 張 Man Yee 敏怡 HKG - 07:14:33

4 Women 18-39 6 Wakabayashi 若林 Aya 綾 Japan - 07:21:46

5 Women 18-39 4 Chihiro 相原 Aibara 千尋 Japan - 07:26:53

Top 5 Men - 27km

1 Men 18-39 303 Omi 竜之介 Ryunosuke 近江 Japan - 02:40:45

2 Men 18-39 302 Hajimi 肇 Kasagi 笠木 Japan - 02:45:25

3 Men 18-39 483 Kulung Arjun Rai Nepal - 02:56:20

4 Men 40-49 301 Miyagawa Tomofumi Japan - 03:01:53

5 Men 18-39 308 Myagmarjav Gantulga Mongolia Mongolian Skyrunning Federation 03:08:54

Top 5 Women - 27km

1 Women 18-39 484 Budha Sunmaya Nepal The Northface Adventure Team 03:07:40

2 Women 18-39 305 Takamura Takako Japan - 03:24:59

3 Women 18-39 304 Suzuha 楠田 Kusuda 涼葉 Japan - 03:28:48

4 Women 18-39 361 Brown Erin HKG RUN Hong Kong 03:43:07

5 Women 40-49 309 Myagmar Dulamsuren Mongolia Mongolian Skyrunning Federation 03:46:42

Top 5 Women - 16km

1 Open Men 897 Chan 陳 Siu Chung 少聰 HKG Team Salomon HK 01:47:24

2 Open Men 930 Zagury Alan France - 01:53:55

3 Open Men 827 Leung 梁 Tsz Wing 子榮 HKG - 01:55:03

4 Open Men 926 Anstey Joshua Isaac South Africa SUPERnatural 01:58:35

5 Open Men 902 Wong 黃 Chun Yin 駿賢 HKG JamesXDUO 01:58:41

 

Top 5 Women – 16km

1 Open Women 932 Mulliner Charlotte UK - 02:16:08

2 Open Women 900 Wong 黃 Hei Tung 睎彤 HKG DUO.hk 02:18:35

3 Open Women 802 Montfort Laetitia France - 02:21:58

4 Open Women 818 Bejuna Fely Philippines - 02:23:07

5 Open Women 905 Buil Judith Germany - 02:29:41

Race Info

Event Name	Bupa Global Lantau 50 Asian Skyrunning Championship
Date	Dec 2, 2023 (Saturday)
Start Time	6:30 am (54 km), 7:15am (27 km) , 7:15 am (16 km)
Start & FinishLocation	Man Tung Road Park, Tung Chung, Lantau, Hong Kong
Distance	16km, 27km, 54km
Category	Trail Running and Hiking
Website	www.actionasiaevents.com

 

More Race Details at:

www.actionasiaevents.com 

www.facebook.com/ActionAsiaEvent/

www.instagram.com/actionasiaevents/

www.twitter.com/ActionAsiaEvent

www.youtube.com/user/ActionAsiaEvents

www.weibo.com/actionasiaevent

https://www.linkedin.com/company/action-asia-events/

 

About Action Asia Events:

Action Asia Events is the organizer of spectacular, extraordinary remote marathons for adventure travel seekers & trail running enthusiasts that inspire and push the boundaries of participants. Having organized over 290 events over the past 23 years Action Asia Events constantly keeps inspiring and pushes the boundaries of adventure travel, ultra-marathon and team building. Responsibilities range from designing courses, selection of the venue, dates and race format to raising the funds essential to run the race as well as liaising with NGO’s and non-profits for fund raising activities related to environment, education and health.