Schoolgirl triathlete Tania Mak So-ning and schoolboy rower Chow Kwong-wing have been named the Hong Kong Sports Development Board's (SDB) Outstanding Junior Athletes for the second quarter of 2004.
Excellent performances during that period secured the coveted honour for the two teenagers who will receive their prizes - a cash award of $2,500, sports gear vouchers worth $2,500 and a certificate of merit - at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, Sha Tin, tomorrow. The awards scheme was introduced by the SDB in 1999 to encourage Hong Kong's best young athletes. Kwong-wing, 17, snatched a gold medal in the single sculls at the 10th Asian Junior Rowing Championships in Japan, defeating promising athletes from six countries. He also won a silver medal in the double sculls.
'To win a gold and silver was very impressive,' said Sam Wong Chi-wai, Hong Kong's director of coaching development. 'He [Kwong-wing] is very committed to training. I think he is a candidate to win a place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is certainly a future star for Hong Kong.'
Tania, 18, finished fourth in the female elite junior category at the 2004 Asian Triathlon Championships in the Philippines in April. She also won a silver medal in the same category at the 2004 ITU International Series/Asian Cup Series in South Korea.
'Tania has been aiming for this award for a long time and she is very happy to win this time. Her hard work has not been wasted,' said Tania's father, Raymond Mak.
Last Sunday, Tania competed in the female under-23 category at the ITU Macau International Triathlon. It was the first time she had taken part in a full Olympic distance race (1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run) rather than in the junior event. Tania put in a mature performance and finished third in two hours, 20 minutes and 55 seconds.