Leslie Kwok

Last updated

Leslie Kwok
Personal information
Full nameLeslie Kwok Ying Wah
National teamFlag of Singapore.svg  Singapore
Born (1973-11-12) 12 November 1973 (age 50)
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
ClubChinese Swimming Club
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Singapore
Southeast Asian Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1997 Jakarta 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1999 Brunei 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2005 Manila 50 m freestyle

Leslie Kwok Ying Wah (born 12 November 1973) is a Singaporean former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events and later turned into an actor, entrepreneur, and a part-time professional model. [1] He earned three bronze medals each in the 50 m freestyle from the Southeast Asian Games, and later represented Singapore at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Kwok is also an Anglo-Chinese School alumnus, and later a graduate with a bachelor of science degree in civil and structural engineering at Nanyang Technological University. [2]

Kwok competed for Singapore in the men's 50 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved a FINA B-cut of 23.72 from the Southeast Asian Games in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. [3] [4] He challenged seven other swimmers in heat four, including Kyrgyzstan's Sergey Ashihmin, Goodwill Games silver medalist for Russia, and Kazakhstan's two-time Olympian Sergey Borisenko. Diving in with a 0.73-second deficit, Kwok scorched the entire race to share a fourth seed with Peru's Luis López Hartinger in an exact time of 24.00, but finished outside an entry standard. Kwok failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed forty-ninth overall in the prelims. [5] [6]

At the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Kwok added a third bronze to his six-year-old hardware in the 50 m freestyle (23.58), finishing behind Indonesia's veteran Richard Sam Bera and Thailand's newcomer Arwut Chinnapasaen by more than half a second (0.50).

In early 2006, Kwok announced his official retirement from swimming to extend his resume in entrepreneurship and other lifestyle businesses. As a part-time professional model, he has appeared in several sports magazines, print ad campaigns, and TV commercials, and has featured on the cover of a popular Asian woman magazine Female. A top-class entrepreneur, Kwok currently owns a massage and health spa called Elements Spa & Slimming, founded in April 2002. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong at the 1996 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Hong Kong competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, for the last time as a British territory.

Ravil Nachaev is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a gold medalist in the 50 m freestyle at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

Allen Ong Hou Ming is a Malaysian former swimmer, who specialised in sprint freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, a double gold medalist in the 100 m freestyle at the Southeast Asian Games, and a varsity swimmer for the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Pilin Tachakittiranan is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and butterfly events. She is a two-time Olympian and a multiple-time age-group record holder in all freestyle distances. Regarded as Thailand's top female swimmer, she has won a total of five gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games.

Sergey Ashihmin (Russian: Серге́й Ашихмин; is a Russian-born Kyrgyzstani former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a former Kyrgyzstan record holder in the 50 and 100 m freestyle. While playing for the Russian senior team, Ashihmin also earned a silver medal, along with Denis Pimankov, Dmitry Chernyshov, and double Olympic champion Alexander Popov, in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 1999 European Aquatics Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Richard Sam Bera is a former Indonesian swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympian, a bronze medalist at the Asian Games (1990), and a twenty-three times SEA Games gold-medalist since his debut in 1987. He is regarded as Indonesia's most successful swimmer in the sporting history. Up until 2015, Bera held several Indonesian and Southeast Asian Games records in sprint freestyle events from the Southeast Asian Games.

Mark Kwok Kin-ming is a former swimmer for Hong Kong, who specialized in middle-distance freestyle but also competed in butterfly and individual medley. He is a two-time Olympian, and a bronze medalist at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. He also holds numerous Hong Kong records in 200, 400, and 800 m freestyle, and retains a dual resident status to compete internationally for his father's homeland. While studying in the United States, Kwok has competed for the USC Trojans, and has received four All-American honors at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in four consecutive seasons.

Sng Ju Wei is a Singaporean former swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a triple medalist at the 2001 Southeast Asian Games. Sng also trained for the Aquatic Performance Swim Club in Singapore district, under head coach Jin Xia Li.

Dieung Anak Manggang is a Malaysian former swimmer, who specialised in long-distance freestyle and in butterfly events. He is a single-time Olympian (2000), and a multiple-time SEA Games medalist.

Steven Chandra is an Indonesian former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle events. He won a bronze medal in the 1500 m freestyle (16:02.63) at the 1999 Southeast Asian Games in Brunei, and later represented Indonesia at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Muhammad Akbar Nasution is an Indonesian former swimmer, who specialised in breaststroke, but also competed in long-distance freestyle and individual medley. Starting as a 17-year-old appearing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Nasution is considered one of Indonesia's top-ranked swimmers in his decade. He has won a total of six medals from the Southeast Asian Games since 2001 and has held numerous Indonesian records in long-distance freestyle and in individual medley. At the peak of his sporting career, Nasurion has also travelled extensively across Asia, Australia, and the United States to train for world-class swim clubs, and to further focus on his education, including his four-year stay at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Serghei Stolearenco is a Moldovan former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He is a single-time Olympian (2000), and a member of a swimming club for Dynamo Moldova.

Luis López Hartinger is a Peruvian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Lopez competed only in the men's 50 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved a FINA B-standard entry time of 23.76 from the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He challenged seven other swimmers in heat four, including Kyrgyzstan's Sergey Ashihmin, Goodwill Games silver medalist for Russia, and Kazakhstan's two-time Olympian Sergey Borisenko. He shared a fourth seed with Singapore's Leslie Kwok in a matching time of 24.00. Lopez failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed forty-seventh overall out of 80 swimmers in the prelims.

Huang Chih-yung is a Taiwanese former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a bronze medalist at the 1998 Asian Games.

Harbeth Fu Wing is a Hong Kong former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He represented Hong Kong, China at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and later became a top 16 finalist at the Asian Games.

Daniel Liew Yao Xiang is a former Singaporean swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. During his sporting career, Liew held a Singaporean record in the medley relay (3:51.16) from the 2001 Southeast Asian Games, and later represented Singapore at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also played for the Chinese Swimming Club before entering the national team.

Moe Thu Aung is a Burmese former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. Aung represented Myanmar at the 2000 Summer Olympics, received a total of ten medals from all editions of the Southeast Asian Games since 2001, and later became a top 8 finalist in a sprint freestyle double at the 2002 Asian Games. During her sporting career, she swam and trained for the MLC School's swimming club, also known as MLC Marlins, under an Australian-based coach John Bladon.

Chiang Tzu-ying is a Taiwanese former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Chiang competed for Chinese Taipei in the women's 50 m freestyle, as a 15-year-old, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She achieved a FINA B-cut of 27.03 from the National University Games in Taipei. She challenged seven other swimmers in heat five, including teenagers Marijana Šurković of Croatia and Jūratė Ladavičiūtė of Lithuania. She scorched the field by more than half a second (0.50) to power home with a leading finish in a sterling time of 26.84, sufficiently enough for her personal best. Chiang failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed fortieth overall out of 74 swimmers in the prelims.

Jonathan Tan Eu Jin is a Singaporean swimmer. He represented Singapore at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea and he finished in 34th place in the heats in the men's 50 metre freestyle event.

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Leslie Kwok". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award – Sport and Excellence: Mr. Kwok Ying Wah Leslie" (PDF). Nanyang Technological University. February 2006. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "Swimming – Men's 50m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Sydney 2000 . Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "Richard good as gold in 50m freestyle". Jakarta: The Jakarta Post. 12 August 1999. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 50m Freestyle Heat 4" (PDF). Sydney 2000 . LA84 Foundation. p. 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Results from the Summer Olympics – Swimming (Men's 50m Freestyle)". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ↑ "Get on Bod". The Star (Malaysia) . 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Tay, Suan Chiang (27 April 2013). "Leading the charge". Business Times (Singapore) . Retrieved 10 June 2013.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.