- The elegant Hong Kong swimmer equals her 2019 best time in winning the women’s 100m backstroke
- She hopes to compete in several events at the Games, which will be her fourth Olympics since Beijing 2008
Stephanie Au Hoi-shun is moving closer to reaching the Olympic A qualifying standard after setting a season's best in the women's 100 metres backstroke at the Hong Kong Open championships on Sunday.
The home favourite won her pet event in one minute and 0.81 seconds, equalling her 2019 best time set at the Tour of Mediterranean Sea in June. Promising Wong Kwan-to was a distant second almost two seconds behind in 1:02.82 at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Fo Tan.
Au's time came close to the Tokyo Games qualifying mark of 1:00.25 but the part-time model won't celebrate until she has achieved her aim.
"It is close but it's still not the standard (time)," said Au, who was a member of the 4x200 metre freestyle relay team at the world championships in Gwangju last month.
I hope to inspire Hong Kong's next generation of swimmers, says Siobhan Haughey
"Sometimes you need all the right elements coming together and a little bit of luck to make it happen. But I am so happy to have achieved this result in a Hong Kong event as it's more difficult racing in front of a home crowd. It gives me more inspiration to work harder and there is almost a year to go before the qualifiers end."
Au, who also represented Hong Kong in the previous three Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Games, is full of confidence making up for the small gap needed to qualify for her pet event.
"My first 50 metres was not ideal today and I should have been 0.3 seconds faster. If I can improve some other details, it should be very close," she said.
Au, who will have another chance to crack the qualification mark at the World Cup series in Singapore next week, will also attempt to qualify for Tokyo in other events such as the 100 metres freestyle.
"I can't just focus on one single event as it will hamper my specific muscle groups for my 100m backstroke. I need to try some other events. Also, Hong Kong has already qualified in the two women's freestyle relays (4x100 metres and 4x200 metres) for the Tokyo Games and I need to maintain a certain strength level in the event to foster my Olympic hopes," she said.
Swimmer-turned-model Stephanie Au helps out for a good cause as ambassador for disabled sport
Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association secretary general David Chiu Chin-hung said they won't name the relay team squad until April 2020 but hope to send as "many swimmers as possible".
"We will set up a selection mechanism which will be fair to all swimmers who are eligible," said Chiu. "Swimming may become the biggest squad Hong Kong will send to the Tokyo Olympics."
Meanwhile, UK based Adam Collingworth will return to Hong Kong to compete in future major events. The 21-year-old Hong Kong-born swimmer, who is studying at Plymouth University, finished second in the international category in the men's 100 metre breaststroke in Fo Tan in 1:03.09. "I learned swimming in Hong Kong before going to England in 2012," said Collingworth, who represents local club South China. "Now I want to come back to see if I can do something here." He also came second in the 200 metre breaststroke on Saturday.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.