FOR SOMEONE who didn't know how to swim until he was 14, Hong Kong canoe champion Raymond Lo Ho-yin can't seem to keep away from water these days.
And with the spotlight on the ongoing Asian Games, Lo has been preparing harder than ever. Not even torrential rain, or the odd typhoon, will keep this easy-going 27-year-old away from his daily training regime of paddling, running or gym work for an hour before work and two hours in the evening.
Lo, who starts competing in his third Asian Games today, has won 100 canoeing medals. The travel, new friends and honour of representing Hong Kong are just as important, he says.
His top event is the K1 (individual), although he also takes part in K4 (four in a boat) races. Part of Hong Kong's five-member canoeing squad to Busan, he will be powering along in the K1 1,000 and 500 metres events over four days of competition and hopes for a top-10 finish.
Lo made his canoeing debut in 1989 as a 15-year-old at TWGHs Yow Kam Yuen College in Shatin. His classmates convinced him to try it out.
Until then, Lo had stuck to sport on dry land.
'I played football. Before Form Two I didn't know how to swim, so all my sport was on the ground - on water, no way,' Lo says.