SAINT Joseph's College students Alex Fong Lik-sun and Billy Kwok Sze-wai stole the limelight at the Short Course Age Group Swimming gala when they each won three golds in the Hongkong Sports Institute pool. Fong, competing in the boys' 11 and 12 years age division, was in top form as he recorded personal best times in his three races - the 100 metres butterfly, 100 metres backstroke and 100 metres individual medley events. Representing the South China Athletics Association, Fong won the butterfly swim in a very fast clip of one minute and 5.50 seconds. He did the backstroke on 1:08.88 and the medley in 1:09.93. Coach Captain Harry Wright was extremely pleased with Fong's efforts, saying: ''Those were very good times and they only show that Alex has the potential to be a top level swimmer. ''He is still very young and given the time, I'm sure he will get into the national team and do Hongkong proud at international competitions.'' But soon to be joining the national team is Fong's schoolmate and clubmate Kwok, a 14-year-old who represented Hongkong at a schools interport in China last year. Kwok was also a triple gold medallist at the age group gala, winning the 100 metres backstroke, 100 metres individual medley and 200 metres freestyle events for boys' 13 and 14. Another to shine at the one-day competition was Lung En-ting, who beat Olympian Robyn Lamsam in two events on her way to three gold medals in the girls' 15 to 17 years age group. Lung beat Lamsam in the 100 metres backstroke and 100 metres medley and her third gold came from the 100 metres butterfly event. Freestyle specialist Lamsam, the territory's only woman swimmer at the Barcelona Olympic Games last year, made amends by winning the 200 metres freestyle. Others to impress at the meeting were Ann Wong Hoi-wun (girls under-10), Chan Lai-kwan (girls 11-12), Katie Lau King-ting (girls 13-14). TRIATHLON STAR junior triathlete Bobo Lee Wing-yee stamped her authority on the Aquathon Winter Series by notching her sixth triumph in seven races at the Hongkong Sports Institute. Lee proved she is the territory's leading woman biathlete as the aquathon event only comprise swimming and running, and does not include cycling as in a normal triathlon race. She was the first woman to complete the swim and never looked back as she ran on well to win the 500 metres swim and five-kilometre run in a very good time 38 minutes and 14 seconds. Her victory was made all the more easier by the absence of arch rival Sue Ross, the only person who has beaten Lee in this series. Alison Bailey was a distant second almost seven minutes behind while Vicki Lai claimed third spot. RUGBY A GROWING band of Chinese youngsters are taking up rugby and officials are predicting that local Chinese mini-rugby players will outnumber expatriates in two years' time. Some 1,000 children from more than 70 clubs joined the mini-rugby tournament at the Kai Tak Festival and the turn-out was almost a 50-50 split between Chinese and expatriate kids. Trevor Gregory, chairman of the Hongkong Mini-Rugby Football Union, said: ''The Chinese players are really getting into it and in a couple of years, they will outstrip the expatriates. Their level of skill is improving all the time.'' Three promising Chinese players are chosen to attend an intensive coaching clinic at the Lincoln College in Christchurch next May, but their proposed tour is still in the balance. Selected by the Hongkong Rugby Football Union for the course are Rambo Leung Yung-kit, Marco Sze Tsz-wah and Chung Pak-kee. HKRFU development officer Chiu Kwok-kwong said: ''We have applied for financial support from the Sports Development Board to send the three kids to New Zealand. ''This is a great opportunity to improve the playing standards of some of our young Chinese players as Lincoln College regularly brings in All Blacks to help with the course.''
