THE HONG KONG squad at the FINA World Swimming Championships line up for their second day of races today in Barcelona, Spain. The much-anticipated action in the pool began yesterday after a week of diving, water-polo and synchronised swimming. Schoolgirl swimmer of the year, Liu Ka-lei, goes for the local record in the 100-metre breaststroke. The Diocesan Girls' School (DGS) student will be measuring herself against American Olympic medallist Amanda Beard. Sherry Tsai Hiu-wai opens her bid for a place in local history when she competes in the 100m backstroke. No Hong Kong swimmer has ever made it to the semi-finals of any event at the World Championships, which is held every two years. Former DGS student Sherry holds six local records, and has spent the past year training alongside Olympic medallists and world record holders at an elite club in California. In the men's category, Fai Yau-sun competes in the 100m backstroke. Yesterday, the SAR's Flora Kong Yan-kay, a second-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, raced in the preliminary rounds of the 100m butterfly. 'Butterfly is my best event, and with world-class swimmers pushing me, I know I have a chance to break a Hong Kong record,' Kong told Young Post last week. Sze Hang-yu also raced in the 100m butterfly, while Szeto Shui-ki competed in the men's 50m butterfly. Tam Chi-kin and Li Cheuk-lun were aiming to beat local records in the 100m breaststroke, and St Joseph's College schoolboy Alex Chung Kwok-leung was keen to make his mark in the 400m freestyle. Both the men and women raced in the 4x100m freestyle relay events. Cable TV Sports Channel (6) has daily coverage from 3pm to 5pm, and 11pm to 2am.
