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]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leslie Kwok Ying Wah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  Singapore | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 November 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Chinese Swimming Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 50m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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) - ^ "Get on Bod". The Star (Malaysia). 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ Tay, Suan Chiang (27 April 2013). "Leading the charge". Business Times (Singapore). Retrieved 10 June 2013.
External links
edit- Leslie Kwok at World Aquatics
- Leslie Kwok at Olympedia
- Hall of Fame Profile – Nanyang Technological University
- Feature: The ACS Connection
- Profile – Most Beautiful Man[usurped]
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