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Michelle Chan

Charles Szeto Shui-ki, swimmer
While  we anxiously wait for the Beijing Olympics to start in August, swimmer Charles Szeto Shui-ki   is hoping for some Olympics action of his own - as a host for TVB.
In the 20 years he has been a professional swimmer,  Szeto, has raced against numerous top swimmers, taken part in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and the 2002 Busan Asian Games, broken a few Hong Kong records, bagged enough medals to cover his entire body,   but, he has never taken part in the Olympics, something he is still hoping to do - although not as a competitor.
Water is important to Szeto, because it is also a nickname he acquired while studying fashion and textiles at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He got the moniker because a word in his Chinese name sounds like the word 'water', and because he was always in the swimming pool.
'Water is one of my best buddies; all my troubles disappear  when I dive in. Without water, I would not be the person I am now,' said Szeto,  a former member of the Hong Kong national swimming team.
Although he has always been determined to succeed, there have been moments when the swimmer's mind was elsewhere.
He missed several  training sessions and was shocked when a younger team member, whom he'd been training, beat him in a 200-metre freestyle race.
'It was a real shock. I always did better than the other team members  in training and races. I couldn't believe I'd lost,' he said.
It was a wake-up call and terrified he may have fallen from the No1 spot, Szeto kicked himself back into action.
He set  a new Hong Kong record in January 2002 and,  in the three months that followed, broke his own record four times.
In April 2002, at the EWS 6th Fina World Championships in Moscow, he set a Hong Kong record in the men's 100m butterfly (short course) of 55.74 seconds - a record he kept for five years until he was beaten last October.
Water and sports have played an important role for the whole  Szeto family.
Szeto's sister  Wing-yee,  who is five years older, was already on the national swimming team  when he started swimming.
And his father Szeto Ping-hang  is  an international swimming referee, something he did to spend more time with his son.
'Even my mother has taken up sports. She switched from playing mahjong  to being a tennis coach.
'You really need to put your heart into it if you're going to excel. Now my wish is to host the Olympics for TVB,' he said.
Profile
Born in Hong Kong
Learnt to swim at the age of five
First international race on behalf of Hong Kong was in Indonesia when he was eight
Took part in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games at the age of 19
Broke Hong Kong's record for the men's 100-metre butterfly and broke  his own record for four times at the age of 23
Holder of the Hong Kong record for the men's 100m butterfly with a record time of 55.74 seconds. The record was set at the EWS 6th Fina World Championships in Moscow, in April 2002, and lasted five years
Still holds  two Hong Kong swimming records: the first is for the 4x200m freestyle relay (short course) with a record time of 7 minutes 43.54 seconds, set at the World Championships in Hong Kong on April 2, 1999; the second is 4x100m freestyle relay (long course) with a record time of 3 minutes 30.29 seconds, set at the Busan Asian Games on October 4, 2002
Took part in the 2002 Busan Asian Games at the age of 23
Was awarded Sportsman of the Year by the University Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China, at the age of 24
Took up a three-year degree in fashion and textiles at  Polytechnic University in 2003
Starred as the male lead  in the TVB drama series Sunshine Heartbeat   at the age of 25, and has since became a TVB actor
Represented Hong Kong for the last time in the East Asian Games and National Games of China in 2005
Opened a cafe, called  DY Club,  in Tsim Sha Tsui last year



Eyeing an Olympic splash