HONG Kong's record-breaking female swimmer, Robyn Lamsam, leads a three-strong team to Australia today to compete in the Queensland State Championships in Brisbane.
Lamsam, who holds a total of 12 national records in long-course (50 metres) and short-course (25 metres) swimming, will be accompanied by Cosmo Saunders and Caroline Ng.
The championships take place from January 10-16 and 16-year-old Lamsam will be contesting four long-course events - the 100 metres freestyle, 200 metres freestyle, 400 metres freestyle and 200 metres butterfly.
It has been a very busy start to the New Year for Lamsam, who swam in the Epson World Cup at Kowloon Park last weekend and in the Beijing leg of the seven-stage short-course series on Wednesday and Thursday.
''Everything picked up a bit in Beijing, although I'm not top fit,'' said Lamsam.
''I don't know what to expect in Brisbane; I'm just hoping to keep the times coming down.'' After the Queensland championships, Lamsam, Saunders and Ng will join Hong Kong national squad members Billy Kwok, Fenella Ng and Vivian Lee Ying-shih for a 10-day training camp in Melbourne.
National coach Bill Sweetenham said Lamsam looked ''tired and flat'' during the Hong Kong meet - but she responded by twice breaking two national short-course records in Beijing - in the 100 metres and 200 metres freestyle.