Impressive Hong Kong swimmer Kenneth To earns slot in relay team with Olympic ace Sun Yang at China National Games
The 25-year-old former world championships silver medallist adds gloss to city’s swimming future after ditching Australia and becoming eligible to represent the city of his birth
Kenneth To King-him’s potential as a future swimming star for Hong Kong has been further underlined after the former world championship silver medallist impressed China coaches enough to earn a place in a combined relay team alongside Olympic champion and world record holder Sun Yang at this month’s National Games.
Hong Kong-born To has been eligible to represent the city since June having waited the required one year cooling-off period following his decision last year to walk away from the national swimming programme in Australia, where he grew up.
The 25-year-old clocked 49.12 seconds in the 100 metres freestyle final at Australia’s 2016 Olympic Games trials, which is half a second faster than the Hong Kong record of 49.69 seconds held by Geoffrey Cheah.
To, who is in action at this week’s World University Games in Taiwan, also claimed one silver and two bronze medals for Hong Kong at the short-course World Cup in the Netherlands early this month.
“China had some swimming delegates in Hong Kong before the world championships when Sun was training here and they watched To before making the decision to recruit him for the relay,” said Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association president Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, who represented Hong Kong at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.
