Mark Kwok Kin-ming (; born 20 June 1977) 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 (1996 and 2000), and a bronze medalist at the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. 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 The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

, and has received four All-American honors at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in four consecutive seasons.

Early years

Kwok was born in

Laguna Hills, California Laguna Hills (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in south Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby— Laguna Niguel and L ...

from a Hong Kong father and an American mother, giving him distinct, blond-haired and blue-eyed features, and a dual residential status. He started swimming at the age of four, when his mother sent him in a small local club: "I loved it. I never wanted to get out of the water, whether it was in the pool or at the beach. I guess I took to the water right away." During his early childhood Kwok learned the essentials of competitive swimming, and then moved on to South Coast Aquatics, where the workouts and skills became more challenging for him. After South Coast Aquatics ceased operations, Kwok joined numerous small clubs until he finally settled with the Mission Viejo Nadadores under head coach Terry Stoddard. Kwok attended

Laguna Hills High School Laguna Hills High School (LHHS) is a public and high school located in Laguna Hills, California. The innovative programs include the Golden-Bell Award-Winning Two-Way Language Immersion Program, Awards and recognition *LHHS has historically ha ...

, where he swam for the swimming team, and achieved senior national marks in the 200 and 400 m individual medley, and in the long-distance freestyle (400 and 1500 m). He also earned the Laguna Hills High Academic Achievement Award and U.S. Swimming Scholastic All-American Award for his continuous success in the sport, received all-league honors, and became one of the school's top students in an academic roll with a 4.02 grade-point average.

Career

College career

After graduating from Laguna Hills High School in 1995, Kwok accepted an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

to attend the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

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, where he played for the

swimming and diving team under head coach Mark Schubert. While swimming for the Trojans, he received four All-American honors in the 400-yard freestyle, and in the 4×200-yard freestyle relay. In his junior season, Kwok won the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.53), the 500-yard freestyle (4:25.09) and the 400-yard individual medley (3:55.26) at a dual college meet in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

; all of his triumphs in each event were considered an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

mark. Kwok also competed for four consecutive season at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships before he graduated from the University with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1999.

International career

A genuine product of a paternal heritage, Kwok retained an independent athletic status and held his family dual residency to compete internationally for Hong Kong in swimming. Kwok's major international debut came as a 19-year-old at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

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. There, he failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing twentieth in the 400 m individual medley (4:31.13), thirty-fourth in the 200 m butterfly (2:04.01), and twenty-ninth each in the 400 m freestyle (4:02.68) and in the 200 m individual medley (2:07.61). At the 1998 FINA World Championships in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Australia, Kwok placed twenty-second in the 400 m freestyle (4:00.94), thirty-second in the 200 m butterfly (2:04.42), and twenty-third in the 200 m individual medley (2:07.30), all from the prelims. Out of four individual tries, Kwok only reached the B-Final in the 400 m individual medley, where he pulled off a fifteenth-place effort in a time of 4:30.66. On that same year, at the Asian Games in

, Kwok powered home with a well-deserved bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle, earning Hong Kong's first podium finish in swimming. He established a national record of 4:00.44 to hold off South Korea's Woo Chul in his last-gasp surge by 0.22 of a second. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, Kwok decided to drop all of his individual medley events, and experiment with the 200 m freestyle. He posted

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

B-standards of 1:52.48 (200 m freestyle), 4:01.97 (400 m freestyle), and 2:04.00 (200 m butterfly) from the Asian Championships in Busan, South Korea. On the first day of the Games, Kwok placed thirtieth in the 400 m freestyle. Swimming in heat two, he broke a four-minute barrier and a new Hong Kong record of 3:58.94 to earn a second spot by almost half the body length behind his former rival Woo. The following day, in the 200 m freestyle, Kwok finished twenty-sixth with a time of 1:52.71, just 0.23 seconds off his entry time. In his final event, 200 m butterfly, Kwok placed thirty-second on the morning prelims. Swimming again in heat two, he blasted a Hong Kong record of 2:01.99 to pick up a third seed by almost two seconds behind winner Anthony Ang of Malaysia. Two years later, at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, Kwok rounded out the final to eighth place in the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:03.91. He also placed fifth as a member of the Hong Kong team in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay (7:44.73), and sixth in the 4 × 100 m medley relay (3:54.01). Shortly after the Games, Kwok announced his retirement from swimming to pursue other lifetime opportunities.

References

External links

HK Swim Bio

List of USC Olympians in Swimming
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwok, Mark 1977 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Hong Kong Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1994 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1998 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in swimming Hong Kong male freestyle swimmers Hong Kong male butterfly swimmers Hong Kong male medley swimmers People from Laguna Hills, California Sportspeople from Orange County, California Swimmers from California American people of Hong Kong descent Hong Kong people of American descent USC Trojans men's swimmers University of Southern California alumni Asian Games bronze medalists for Hong Kong Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games 21st-century Hong Kong people