Alex Fong on how he swam 45km around Hong Kong Island, from pre-race training to smashing the record on the day
- The Canto-pop star and former Olympian hadn’t swum seriously for 15 years before taking on the swim for charity A Drop of Life
- We talk to him about working up to 45km, overcoming seasickness, his diet in the days before the race and staying motivated over the more than 10-hour swim
Alex Fong Lik-sun looks fresh-faced two days after his record-breaking 45km (28-mile) swim around Hong Kong Island on November 5. That 10-hour, 43-minute journey created a big splash for charity, raising more than HK$8.5 million (US$1.1 million). Friends, family and fans lauded his feat, but the modest former Olympic swimmer says he couldn’t have done it alone.
To swim 45km was not Fong’s original idea. As an ambassador for A Drop of Life, a charity that brings clean water to those in need in Nepal, Cambodia and China, he was asked how he could raise funds to mark the charity’s 20th anniversary last year.
“I thought I could do a 20km swim because it was A Drop of Life’s 20th anniversary and when I trained as a swimmer, I used to swim 13km every day, so I thought I should be able to do 20km,” he says.
By March, Fong decided to start training in earnest. However, he hadn’t swum seriously for 15 years after diving into show business.
