Robyn Lamsam returns to international competition hoping to regain her confidence which was shattered by her failure to qualify for last year's Olympic Games. Hong Kong's leading female swimmer over the past five years has had to endure a painful 10 months trying to find the form with which she led Hong Kong to a silver medal in the 1994 Asian Games 4 x 100 metres relay. After a four-month stint in Australia with former Hong Kong national coach Bill Sweetenham, Lamsam feels she is ready to break through the mental barrier. 'There was a period when I was swimming badly, and with each bad swim, my confidence would drop,' said Lamsam yesterday. 'But with time, perseverance and effort, I'm slowly trying to build myself back up.' The 19-year-old Lamsam added: 'The good thing about the East Asian Games is that I'm not really under any pressure. My main target is the Asian Games [in 1998 in Bangkok] and this event is part of my buildup to that.' Lamsam strained her neck yesterday while sleeping awkwardly and was unable to turn her head. She will miss today's opening ceremony as she has been told to rest. 'It's very disappointing,' said Lamsam. 'This is the last opening ceremony for Hong Kong under British rule, and I was hoping to be there.' National swimming coach Chan Yiu-hoi is hoping for some medals in Pusan, although the competition is mainly to give some of the younger swimmers international experience. Chan said Hong Kong's best hope of a medal was from Mark Kwok Kin-ming in the men's 1,500 metres freestyle.
