Teen swimmer Hayden Kwan has Paris Olympics berth in his sights, but first he needs to qualify to represent Hong Kong
- Kwan is still 2 months from being eligible to represent city on international stage
- But he has already posted times good enough to shatter Hong Kong’s 200m backstroke record
Hayden Kwan is not even yet eligible to swim for Hong Kong, but that has not stopped him from targeting a place in the city’s delegation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The teenager smashed the Hong Kong 200m backstroke record on Sunday in the Age Group Long Course D1 competition at Victoria Park, finishing in 2 minutes 03.39 seconds, some 1.68 seconds faster than the previous best, set by Lau Shiu-yue last April.
And Kwan, who was born in the United States to Hong Kong parents, said he could go faster still and was confident of getting below the two-minute mark.
“Today’s time is not really good because I didn’t taper for this competition, I trained hard as usual, and I hope next time I will be closer to swimming under two minutes,” Kwan said.
“I am confident that I will make the Olympic A cut, but first I need to improve my core strength and body power, as well as my start, turns, and floating on the water; I hope to improve bit by bit.”
The 19-year-old, who is still two months from being eligible to represent Hong Kong, already has a personal best of 2:00.77, which he clocked at the city’s Time Trial in April.
Neither that, nor his performance on Sunday are officially recognised as breaking the Hong Kong record because of his status, but that is likely to change at the Hong Kong Open in August.