Alex Fong’s Swim Around Hong Kong Island Raises Nearly HK$8 Million

On November 5, Hong Kong singer-actor and former Olympic swimmer, 39-year-old Alex Fong (方力申) became the first Hong Kong person to complete a circumnavigation swim around Hong Kong Island in 10 hours, 43 minutes, and six seconds.

His swimming challenge raised over HK$7.9 million for A Drop of Life charity to bring clean water to more than 450,000 impoverished people in need of water. The 45 km journey, which began at Sandy Bay at 5 a.m., finished at Sandy Bay earlier than he expected.

“I never thought I’d finish earlier because specialists estimated that it would take about 12 hours,” Alex shared. “It felt amazing the moment I got out of the water and stepped onto land.”

He continued, “I never swam 45 km before, so I think this is my most accomplished moment because over 3,000 people donated to help the needy.”

Still, this feat did not come without challenges – Alex began to get tired after the 10 km mark and spoke of huge waves at Shek O that caused him to vomit. He added, “My tongue kept touching saltwater, so it feels pretty bad and swollen. My legs also felt like cramping, so thankfully, I’m sitting down to do this interview. It was also painful to pee towards the end.”

Despite the obstacles, Alex motivated himself by thinking about how many people donated their money and time for the cause. Friends from all walks of life supported his initiative and cheered him on in person, including his celebrity friends Natalie Tong (唐詩詠), Bob Lam (林盛斌), Louisa Mak (麥明詩), and Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀). Rumored girlfriend Jeannie Chan (陳瀅) also witnessed Alex getting out of the water.

“Because she’s filming dramas back to back, she messaged me this morning to say that she won’t be able to see me go into the water since she gets off work at six in the morning,” Alex said. “But I didn’t think she’d be able to come before work to catch me get out of the water. So thank you to my friends for donating and coming to support me.”

Source: HK01