Cheung, Ho complete Olympic swimming events

Two Hong Kong swimmers on Thursday failed to make it out of the heats at Paris La Defense Arena, bringing their Olympic journeys to an end. Cindy Cheung, the youngest member to represent the SAR in swimming, competed in the women’s 200m backstroke. The 17-year-old maintained a steady pace in her heat against two others, finishing in second place. She clocked 2 minutes 17.32 seconds, more than 4 seconds behind the winner Tatiana Salcutan of Moldova. Cheung, who came 26th overall among 27 swimmers, said she was not happy with her performance but that her experience in Paris had been invaluable. "In the end, this was a very good learning experience. I got to see how the Olympic Village was like, and experienced what it was like to compete at such a high level – the feeling is very different," she said. "Even though my finishing time was not up to my expectations, this was an experience that's hard to come by." On the men’s side, Ian Ho also concluded his second Olympics in the pool after he failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the men’s 50m freestyle. The 27-year-old came last in his heat with a time of 22.12 seconds. He finished in joint 24th place out of 73 swimmers. "I really can’t complain. It’s been a good Olympics for me, and to have such a different experience from last time...Really, I’m grateful for what I’ve been able to do," Ho said. Cheung and Ho were eliminated from the women’s 100m backstroke and the men’s 100m freestyle earlier. _____________________________Last updated: 2024-08-01 HKT 18:51