TWO-TIME Olympic swimmer Fenella Ng Gar-lok aims to make it to the 1996 Atlanta Games, but it will be as a rower after she was drafted into the national training squad.
The 28-year-old started exercising on a rowing machine earlier this year as part of her cross-training for the Hiroshima Asian Games and suddenly found a special interest in the sport.
However, outspoken swim coach Bill Sweetenham stopped her from pursuing her new interest when she started to spend more time in a boat than in the water.
And it was only after the Asian Games that Ng had decided for the switch and rowing coach Chris Perry was delighted to recruit her for the national training squad.
'Fenella's physiology and body shape is perfect for rowing and that is a very big advantage,' said Perry, whose wife Ho Kim-fai is the number one lightweight woman sculler in Asia.
'She handles the rowing machine very well and her time was only about two seconds behind Fai's best.
'Fenella is far better than any of the other local girls in the rowing machine but she is a long way behind them in the water, mainly because her technique is very raw.' Perry is also happy to report that lightweight sculling has been included into the Olympic Games rowing programme with three events - men's double and fours and women's double - earmarked for Atlanta.
