The ISSFHK Swimming Championships were held in November at Victoria Park. Our swim team performed brilliantly and Philip Chen, Sonya Mo and Audrey Lee brought home seven medals between them. Phillip, Sonya and Audrey shared some insights and their aspirations for 2017.

Juniors:Sonya Mo, Year 7 – Silver: U12 50 LC Meter Freestyle (31.87)Phillip Chen, Year 7 - Silver: U12 50 LC Meter Freestyle (31.45); U12 50 LC Meter Backstroke (39.23); U12 50 LC Meter Breaststroke (41.97)

How long have you been swimming?Sonya: Since I was two years old.Phillip: I have been swimming for nine years.

When did you start competing?Sonya: From about six years old.Phillip: I started competing when I was in Year 5.

How often do you train?Sonia: I train four times a week for about two hours per session.Phillip: I train two to four times a week.

What is your favourite swimming style?Sonya: I love freestyle and butterfly the most.Phillip: My favourite swimming style is freestyle.

How many competitions have you won?Sonya: I’ve won a few but my goal is not to win every competition but to break my own record.Phillip: Countless, should be more than ten.

What was your best win so far?Sonya: In the latest ISSFHK as it was my best time in freestyle. I managed a second faster than the competition just a week before.Phillip: I broke a big record in a competition when I was in Year 4.

What’s your goal for swimming in 2017?Sonya: I want to achieve a record time of below 30 seconds in the 50m freestyle event.Phillip: I’m hoping that I can get my freestyle time down to 28 seconds.

Can you please share a tip you received from a swim coach that has really stuck in your mind and motivated you?Sonya: Never underestimate yourself!Phillip: You can't touch the middle line when you perform freestyle. 

Seniors:Audrey Lee, Year 13 – Silver: U20 50 LC Meter Backstroke (37.00) –Bronze: U20 50 LC Meter Freestyle (30.53); U20 50 LC Meter Butterfly (35.15)

How long have you been swimming?I started at the very young age of four years old and started training at nine.

When did you start competing? I joined my first competition when I was only nine years old.

How often do you train? Every weekday. Sometimes twice a day during holiday breaks. 

What is your favourite swimming style? I love backstroke the most but I am definitely better at butterfly.

How many competitions have you won? It’s really hard to count as I compete several times in a month. 

What was your best win so far? My most memorable win was when I competed in the Inter-School Swimming Competition Division One in 2012. I was not studying at YCIS back then. We did not have enough swimmers in that school. Yet, we still managed to win 2nd Runner-Up for our 4x50m medley relay and thus, winning the overall girls A grade 2nd Runner-Up. My teammates and I were astonished to be able to achieve such amazing results.  

What’s your goal for swimming in 2017? I’d love to push my limits even further. I’d love to get faster personal bests in every stroke and beat last year’s times. That would be great.

Can you please share a tip you received from a swim coach that has really stuck in your mind and has worked for you? Being the champion means nothing if you do not achieve your personal best in the event. 

What are the names of your teammates? Cho Laam Yuen, Irene So and Nicole Wong 

When do you practice together? We get together every Wednesday morning.

Is it first time you have been in a team together? Yes, this is the first time for the four of us to be on the same team; it’s a relay team.

How did you encourage each other? We woke each other up when we had to go to training on Wednesday mornings. Getting back to school at 6:45 a.m. was a whole new challenge for us. It might sound stupid, but during competitions, we shouted each other’s name at the top of our voices, cheering each other on no matter if it was an individual event or during relay. Also, we gave each other lots of support before the events, which helped build our confidence and fight off some nerves.

What’s your favourite team memory? Due to various reasons, our school couldn’t compete in this year’s Inter-School Swimming Competition originally. Yet, we refused to give up and searched for solutions so that we could compete. Since then and seeing how united our team was, I knew it would be a good year for us. Fortunately, with help from Mr Fraser, we solved the problem and successfully earned the chance to participate in the competition. We would like to take the opportunity to thank Mr Fraser for being supportive and patient with us. Without him, we would not have been able to compete. Without him, the swim team would not exist.

Congratulations to our 2016 ISSFHK Championships Swim Team:Calvin Chau, Cho Laam Yuen, Irene So, Audrey Lee, Philip Chen, Sonya Mo, Nicole Wong, Jason Wang