IF Serene Wong Sze-man had listened to her mother, she would have missed out on winning three gold medals and an overall individual title; and if Yeung Tak-keung had decided to give up his remaining events after feeling sick, he would also not have been the hero of the day.
Serene's mother asked her not to swim in the school gala because she might easily catch a cold due to heavy rains, while Tak-keung's will to fight and persevere after feeling sick at the end of the 100 m freestyle was crucial.
Sze-man and and Tak-keung stole the limelight at the Wellington College annual aquatic gala recently when they outswam their rivals to win the girls' and boys' individual honours, respectively.
The championships were held at the Morse Park Swimming Pool in Wong Tai Sin under inclement weather. However, it did not put a dampener on the young swimmers' enthusiasm for glory.
It was a big day for girls' Grade B swimmer Sze-man, when she learnt she won the overall prize as she did not expect to win and especially when she had even contemplated not taking part.
Under strong encouragement from classmates and House members, the 16-year-old Humanity House swimmer changed her mind, and went on to win the 50 m freestyle and breaststroke and the 100 m breaststroke races.
Sze-man started to take up swimming when she was about eight. Although she loves swimming, she did not practise for nearly a year on coming back to Hongkong from Singapore, where she and her family emigrated to four years ago.
