15-year-old sensation finishes fourth in heat but breaks her own national mark
Hannah Wilson was ecstatic yesterday after Hong Kong's fastest female swimmer broke her own national record in the 100-metres freestyle on the world's biggest stage. Her performance justified the fight to include her in the squad, despite her lack of a SAR passport.
Hannah, 15, swam an excellent race, finishing fourth in a time of 57.33 seconds.
This bettered her old mark of 57.60, which was set earlier in the year at the national trials. At that time, she did not know whether she could take part in the 2004 Olympic Games.
'This was definitely worth it, after all I have gone through,' said Hannah after her race. 'It is just awesome. This is the best experience in my life. I will rate this experience as 10 out of 10,' she gushed.
But Hannah was not talking solely about breaking her record or the fact that she was the only local swimmer in the seven-member squad to achieve such a feat. The bubbly teen was more enthralled at actually having taken part in the Olympics.