Kenneth King-him To (7 July 1992 – 19 March 2019) was a Hong Kong Australian swimmer who practised individual medley, freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke.
He was originally scared of the water, but by age 12, had made rapid progress through his primary school swimming program.
At the 2012 FINA Swimming World Cup series, To claimed a big prize in winning the men's overall scoring on a total of 195 points.
His time of 51.38 in the 100m medley was only 0.17 off the winning performance of American superstar Ryan Lochte, and set another Australian record in that event.
At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, To won silver as a butterfly heat swimmer for the 4 × 100 m medley relay team for Australia.
[16] Upon completion of the Commonwealth Games, To withdrew from competing at the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in order to undertake a L4-L5 microdiscectomy on an injured back which had been severely affecting his training and performance.
[18] He began training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute as a senior squad member, with the ultimate target being the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
During 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Hangzhou, To became the first Hong Kong male swimmer qualified into final with 52.33 seconds on 13 December.
[20] He planned to compete at the Hong Kong Festival of Sport in April, which serves as one of the nation's qualifying meets for the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
[citation needed] On 19 March 2019, To began to feel unwell in the locker room after a warm up before a practice session in Florida, and was taken to a hospital, where he died.
[2] In a statement, HKSI described the 26-year-old as an exceptional person who was well loved by his teammates and competitors, and said his sudden passing is a huge loss to local sports.