- She may yet compete in the Paris Games as part of the relay team; veteran says there is no life outside training in emotional Instagram post
Olympic swimmer Stephanie Au wins last Hong Kong race after emotional Instagram reveal. Photo: Instagram / Stephanie AuStephanie Au Hoi-shun, four-time Olympian, completed her last 100 metres backstroke in Hong Kong, the swimmer announced in an emotional Instagram post.
On Sunday, Au competed in her signature event at the Long Course Swimming Invitational Trial, the city’s final Olympic qualifying meet.
And the 32-year-old marked her last race in the city in style, winning in a time of one minute, one second at Hong Kong Sports Institute.
Au was over 1½ seconds faster than second-placed Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet, who has already qualified for the Paris Olympics in the 200m backstroke. Au, who has not qualified in an individual event, could this week be chosen as a relay swimmer in Hong Kong’s squad for the Games.
“I am going to race my last 100m backstroke tomorrow,” Au’s Instagram post on Saturday evening said.
“I have read many stories recently about achieving or not achieving the [Olympic qualifying time] … I have been away from home for two years trying to reach that target and to improve my backstroke technique.
“There was no life outside of that, just training and training. I’ve put myself in the best position to reach the target, so the only thing to do is to smile and enjoy every second.”
Siobhan Haughey, a long-time relay teammate, was among those to comment on the post. She lent her encouragement for Au’s last tilt at the qualifying time, writing “let’s go” and adding a fire emoji.
Last month, Au told the SCMP that this year’s Olympics would be her swan song and she had spent the past two years in Australia trying to reach peak shape.
The veteran did not get under the one-minute mark on Sunday, needed to secure a 100m spot in Paris, but could represent Hong Kong in the 4x100m medley and 4x100m freestyle relay teams.
“Looking back, I did all I could, but I just couldn’t do it,” a teary Au told local media after her race.
“There is no life but training. I live a very tense life, focusing on a goal and giving up everything to a certain extent. I know that this is not very healthy, but if I could do it all again, I would.”
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Au first represented Hong Kong at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, aged just 16. She went on to feature in the next three Games, and has eight Asian Games medals to her name, seven bronze and one silver that came in the 4x100m medley relay in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.
Last year, she was part of the team that won Asian Games bronze in both the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays in Hangzhou.
Three Hong Kong swimmers who have booked tickets to Paris are Haughey, Cheung and Ian Ho Yentou.
Ho and Haughey opted not to race in the final Hong Kong trials and will instead compete in the Sette Colli Trophy, Italy’s Olympic qualifying event, in Rome next Friday to Sunday.