Geoffrey Cheah will represent Hong Kong in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, as announced Tuesday by the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.
Cheah joins Stanford grad Vivian Kong (fencing) as an Olympian from Hong Kong.
Cheah, a 2013 graduate of Stanford with a degree in Earth Systems, will swim the 50-meter freestyle in Rio De Janeiro after achieving a B-cut time in the event.
Since no other swimmers from Hong Kong obtained an A-cut, Cheah was granted a wild card invitation to the Games. He becomes, unofficially, the 49th Olympian with local ties.
While at Stanford, Cheah helped the Cardinal capture four Pac-10 championships under head coach Skip Kenney.
Cheah specializes in freestyle, butterfly and backstroke, and currently holds 10 Hong Kong national records.
Cheah, born in London and raised in Hong Kong before attending Stanford, said it is very important for him to represent his hometown.
“I want to give the kids a vision,” Cheah told Palo Alto Online Sports in 2014. “Hopefully I can inspire them as one of the few professional athletes in Hong Kong.”
(The full story can be viewed here.)
A multi-time Hong Kong national champion and swimmer of the year, Cheah was an NCAA finalist at Stanford while earning three All-America honors.
In 2013, Cheah won a bronze medal at the East Asian Games, before winning a bronze medal at the 2014 Asia Games.
The lone male swimmer to represent Hong Kong at this year’s Games, Cheah is the only Hong Kong man to break the 50 second mark in the 100-meter freestyle
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics