Kenneth To

Kenneth To
Personal information
Surname:	Kenneth King Him To
Nickname (s):	Kenny To
Nation:	Hong Kong Australia
Swimming style (s) :	Layers, freestyle, butterfly, chest
Society:	Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales) Hong Kong Sports Institute (Hong Kong)
Birthday:	July 7, 1992
Place of birth:	Hong Kong
Date of death:	18th March 2019
Place of death:	Gainesville , Florida , United States
Size:	1.70 m
Weight:	70 kg
Medal table

Kenneth "Kenny" King Him To (born July 7, 1992 in Hong Kong ; † March 18, 2019 in Gainesville , Florida , United States ) was a (Hong Kong-) Chinese - Australian swimmer .

Career

Start of career and first successes

Kenneth To was born in Hong Kong on July 7, 1992, but moved with his family to Australia at the age of two , where he subsequently grew up. He started swimming at the Ashfield Swimming Pool in Ashfield , New South Wales, when he was about five years old . Initially suffering from aquaphobia , Tos began rapid development only when he was about twelve years old and he was encouraged by swimming lessons at the Haberfield Public School in nearby Haberfield . Even during his youth, To was considered a successful swimmer who won a variety of competitions. The most outstanding successes of his junior years included several medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games of 2008 in Pune , India , and at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival of 2009 in Sydney .

He made his breakthrough in the junior division in 2009 at the latest when he broke a record in the 200 m individual medley set by Ian Thorpe for a decade in the 16-year-olds and swam a time of 2: 04.31 minutes. The following year To took part as one of 100 Australian athletes in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and won silver in the 50 m freestyle with a time of 22.82 seconds and bronze with a time of 50.29 seconds at the swimming competitions there over 100 m freestyle, as well as silver over 200 m medley with a time of 2: 02.51 minutes. At the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships , which took place on Maui in 2010 , To won gold in the three disciplines of 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle and 4 × 200 m freestyle. He was also a silver medalist in the 4 × 100 m freestyle and 4 × 100 m medley.

Breakthrough into the adult sector

2010 and 2011

At the Australian Short Course Swimming Championships 2010 he made his breakthrough into the adult segment; as a swimmer, he represented the swim team at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney. With a time of 52.39 seconds he took first place over 100 m medley, ahead of Tommaso D'Orsogna and John Goo . Over 200 m individual medley he ranked second behind D'Orsogna and ahead of Jayden Hadler ; He achieved another podium place over 100 m chest when he finished third with a time of 59.70 seconds. Through these achievements, he also managed to participate in the in December 2010 in Dubai held 2010 FINA World Swimming Championships . In these very same he came fifth over 100 m medley with a time of 52.20 seconds and sixth over 200 m medley with 1: 55.64 minutes. The following April he took part in the Australian Swimming Championships 2011 at the Sydney International Aquatic Center and won the silver medal in the 200 m individual medal just behind Mitch Larkin and just ahead of Leith Brodie . As a result, he also fought for a starting place at the 2011 World Swimming Championships in Shanghai , where he came seventh over 200 m medley with a time of 1: 59.26. In the preliminaries he had easily made it into the finals with a time of 1: 59.02. At the end of the swimming World Cup of 2011, he finished sixth with 31 points achieved.

World Cup winner and further successes

2012

At the Australian Swimming Championships 2012 in Adelaide , he did not make it to the podium in any discipline and narrowly missed the selection of the Australian swimming team for the 2012 Summer Olympics . His best placings were a fourth place in the 200 m medley and a ninth place in the 100 meter freestyle; seven weeks before the competition, To's appendix was surgically removed, which is said to have meant that he was not yet able to perform at its best . Nevertheless, he represented his home country at the Oceania Swimming Championships 2012 , which took place from the end of May to the beginning of June in Nouméa , New Caledonia, and was one of the most successful athletes in the field with seven medals (including five gold and two silver medals). He was also extremely successful during the Swimming World Cup in 2012 when he won the 100 m freestyle in Dubai, the 100 m butterfly in Stockholm and Beijing , as well as the 100 m medley in Dubai, Doha , Moscow , Beijing and Singapore as the winner rose and became the men's World Cup winner with 195 points. With a time of 51.43 seconds, he set a new Australian national record in the aforementioned 100 m individual medley in Dubai. At the short course world championships in 2012 , which were held in Istanbul in December , To swam again with the world's elite, but could not win a gold medal. Behind Ryan Lochte , who set a world record in the semifinals with a time of 50.71 seconds, To took second place in the 100 m medley final. With his 51.38 seconds he was only 17 hundredths behind Lochte and thus achieved another Australian national record. He won bronze in the relays over 4 × 100 m freestyle and 4 × 100 m medley; in the individual competition over 200 m individual medley he came fourth (gold medalist Ryan Lochte set another world record).

2013

From the end of April to the beginning of May 2013 To took part in the Australian Swimming Championships 2013, which took place again in Adelaide , and won silver in the 200 meter medley and in the relay over 4 × 100 m medley, as well as the bronze medal in the 100 meter chest. At that meeting, he also took part in the 100 meter freestyle heats, where he swam the fourth-fastest time in the heats, the semi-finals and the final combined. His performance in the 200 meter relay helped him make the Australian selection, which took part in the 2013 World Swimming Championships in Barcelona in July and August . In the heats To took part as a butterfly swimmer in the relay over 4 × 100 m individual medley; Australia made it to second place. In the final, in which Ashley Delaney , Christian Sprenger , Tommaso D'Orsogna and James Magnussen won the silver medal behind the French, To was just a spectator. As a starter in the heats, he also took part in the 4 × 100 m freestyle; in the individual competition over 200 m medley he only took 13th place in the final. To could not defend his title as World Cup winner in 2013 and finished fifth in the overall standings with 192 points. At the meeting in Berlin he managed to set a new Australian record in the 200 meter medley with a time of 1: 52.01 minutes; He achieved something similar at the Doha meeting when he set a new national record over 100 m medley with a time of 51.19 seconds.

2014

At the Australian Swimming Championships 2014 , which also served as qualifying competitions for the Commonwealth Games 2014 , To could only win one medal. With the Trinity Grammar A team , which consisted of Bobby Hurley , Matthew Treloar , Ben Schafer and Kenneth To, he won gold in the relay over 4 × 100 m individual medley. He took fourth place in the individual competition over 100 m freestyle. Through his performance in the latter discipline, he made it into the Australian swimming team, which took part in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July and August and a little later in August at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2014 in Gold Coast , Queensland . At the Commonwealth Games he took part in the heats of the 4 × 100 m freestyle, but was only part of the extended Australian squad in the final, which was won by his compatriots Tommaso D'Orsogna, Matthew Abood , James Magnussen and Cameron McEvoy as one of the forerunners in the end also awarded the gold medal. As a swimmer in the heats of the relay over 4 × 100 m individual medley, To also received the silver medal in the end, although he was no longer used in the final. After the Commonwealth Games ended, To withdrew from the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships to undergo surgery on the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae . Taking into account the postoperative rest phase and regeneration, To subsequently did not take part in the 2014 Swimming World Cup and the 2014 World Short Course Championships .

Rehabilitation after surgery and change of dressing

2015 and 2016

Due to his injury-related loss and the lengthy rehabilitation, To's hopes of participating in the 2015 World Swimming Championships in Kazan and the 2016 Summer Olympics were largely dashed. So in 2015 he could hardly achieve any more successes; one of the few successes this year was a silver medal as part of Trinity Grammar A , a team consisting of James Traiforos , Matthew Treloar, Alston Jeroff and Kenneth To, who won the 2015 Australian Swimming Championships on the 4 × 100 m relay Lagen participated. At the Australian Swimming Championships of the following year To again achieved the silver medal in the 4 × 100 m individual medal together with James Traiforos, Matthew Treloar and Daniel Tranter . At the end of 2016 To finally submitted his change of association papers to FINA ; Instead of Australia, he now wanted to represent his native Hong Kong in international competitions. He then moved to Hong Kong and started swimming training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute . In 2016, he is said to have swum national records for Hong Kong. At that time, his goal of participating in the swimming competitions of the 2020 Summer Olympics was already clear.

2017

In August 2017, he first represented Hong Kong on an international level when he took part in the swimming competitions of the Summer Universiade 2017 in Taipei . To set at least 15 new national records for Hong Kong within ten months; including records on the long track over 50 m and 100 m freestyle, as well as over 50 m and 100 m chest and 200 m medley. On the short course, he set new national records for 50 m, 100 m and 200 m freestyle, 50 m and 100 m chest, 50 m and 100 m butterfly, and 100 m, 200 m and 400 m medley. No less successful he also took part in the Chinese National Games 2017 in August and September 2017 , when he won the silver medal with the relay over 4 × 100 m individual medley.

2018 and 2019

In May 2018, To was honored by the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association for his achievements to date. Only a few months later, he represented his new home at the 2018 Asian Games in the Indonesian capital Jakarta , but could not fight his way into the medal ranks. His best finishes in the swimming competitions were with a time of 22.54 seconds a fifth place over 50m freestyle, with 2: 01.76 minutes a fifth place over 200m medley, and along with Stephanie Au , Nicholas Lim and Camille Cheng a fourth place in the mixed relay over 4 × 100 m medley. At the 2018 Short Course World Championships in Hangzhou , To was the first swimmer from Hong Kong to qualify for the finals via the prelims and the semi-finals. In the finals of the 100 m freestyle, he reached sixth place with a time of 51.88 seconds, setting another national record.

In January 2019 To came to the United States to train with experienced swim coach Gregg Troy at the University of Florida and to attend a training camp in the Florida Keys . The whole thing was considered a three-month preparation for the Hong Kong Festival of Sport , which will take place in April 2019 , in which To wanted to participate and thereby qualify for the 2019 World Swimming Championships . After training on March 18, 2019, To felt unwell and was rushed to a hospital in Gainesville , Florida, where he died shortly afterwards at the age of 26. Based on an autopsy, sudden cardiac death is believed to be the cause of death. At the time of his death, To held 19 Hong Kong national swimming records.

Web links

• Kenneth To on the official website of Swimming Australia ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thrown into the deep end, teenager's fears turn to smiles , accessed March 26, 2019
2. ↑ Interview: Kenneth To , accessed on March 26, 2019
3. ↑ Swimming World Cup 2011 (English) ( Memento from July 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 26, 2019
4. ↑ Kenneth To USANA Health Sciences Ambassador Athlete Interview , accessed March 26, 2019
5. ↑ Swimming World Cup 2012 (English) ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 26, 2019
6. ↑ AYOF star To claims double gold in Dubai ( Memento of the original from May 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed March 26, 2019 
7. ↑ Five from five for relay clean sweep , accessed March 26, 2019
8. ↑ Kenneth To sets new Australian record at FINA World Cup swim meet for 100m individual medley (English), accessed on March 26, 2019
9. ↑ Commonwealth Games: Australia on course for swimming relay gold sweep , accessed March 26, 2019
10. ↑ ^{a b} Kenneth To Withdraws From Pan Pacs Due to Back Injury , accessed on March 26, 2019
11. ↑ ^{a b c} FORMER AUSSIE KENNETH TO MAKES MOVE TO NOW REPRESENT HONG KONG , accessed on March 26, 2019
12. ↑ Kenneth To, record-breaking Hong Kong swimmer, dies aged 26 in Florida - 'a huge loss to local sports' , accessed March 26, 2019
13. ↑ ^{a b c d} AUSTRALIAN AND HONG KONG RECORD HOLDER KENNETH TO DIES AT 26 , accessed on March 26, 2019
14. ↑ Sun Yang claims 400m free title at China National Swimming Championship (English), accessed on March 26, 2019
15. ↑ Hong Kong Swimmer TO Kenneth King Him , accessed on March 26, 2019
16. ↑ Statistics of the semi-finals over 100 m freestyle (English), accessed on March 26, 2019
17. ↑ Statistics of the final of the 100 m freestyle (English), accessed on March 26, 2019
18. ↑ Coroner's Report: Swimmer Kenneth To's Passing Ruled Sudden Cardiac Death , accessed February 9, 2020
19. ↑ Hong Kong Short Course records , accessed March 26, 2019