Hong Kong records fall in butterfly, breaststroke
Chillingworth and Yeung set new marks for city swimmers at home and abroad
Adam Chillingworth was one of two swimmers to break a Hong Kong record yesterday as he set a new 200 metres breaststroke mark at the Pro Swim Series in the US state of Texas.
The 26-year-old finished third in San Antonio in two minutes, 11.16 seconds, shaving 0.04 seconds off the previous record held by Adam Mak Sai-ting.
Mak himself had been half a second outside his best at the National Long Course Swimming Trial, part of the 67th Festival of Sport, at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) on Saturday.
“We are thrilled,” said Michael Fasching, head swimming coach at the South China Athletic Association (SCAA), who attended the trials. Chillingworth trained under Fasching at the SCAA and still represents it in local competitions.
“Adam learned to swim at the SCAA when his family used to live here,” Fasching said. “I’ve known Adam since he was four or five.
We are about six to eight weeks away from the Olympic qualifying closing, so we hope he keeps taking off time
MICHAEL FASCHING, SCAA
“We are about six to eight weeks away from the Olympic qualifying closing, so we hope he keeps taking off time.”
Yeung Hoi-ching, 17, also broke a Hong Kong record yesterday when she finished first in her 200m butterfly heat in a time of two minutes, 12.79 seconds at the HKSI. She went on to win the final with a slightly slower time of 2:15.57, before going on to win the 50m butterfly in 27.65 seconds.
Mak was again in action at the HKSI yesterday, winning the 100m breaststroke, but his time of 1:1.78 seconds was more than two seconds outside what he needs to qualify for this year’s Olympics.
Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet, who already has a spot in Paris, was in the water immediately after Mak, and she won the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:02.91. Although no swimmers competing at the HKSI achieved Olympic qualifying times, 15-year-old Chelsie Lam broke the city’s junior record in the women’s 50m breaststroke, finishing in 32.31 seconds.