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International Man

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

When blond, blue-eyed Mark Kwok steps to the starting block today at the NCAA men’s swimming championships in Indianapolis, the USC senior isn’t likely to draw a second glance from fellow competitors or fans.

And that’s quite a turnaround from what happens to Kwok during some international competitions.

Kwok, a 1995 graduate of Laguna Hills High, is an NCAA All-American, but he competes internationally for Hong Kong, a district of China that has retained independent athletic status for international competitions.

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Kwok’s father is a Hong Kong native, giving the family dual residency and allowing Mark to swim for the district. His mother is American, giving Kwok his surfer looks, which sometimes cause quite a stir.

“Nobody ever gives me a problem,” said Kwok, who holds numerous Hong Kong swimming records. “But people do give a lot of double-takes. At the Asian Games it isn’t so bad because there are some Russians that qualify, but at the China National Games, I stuck out like a sore thumb.”

Another USC swimmer at the NCAA championships with an Orange County and an international connection is Philippe Demers, a Trojan sophomore who graduated from Santa Margarita High.

Demers was born in Bahrain, a small island country off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. He lived there for a year and also lived in Canada, but has not yet attempted to compete for either country.

“I’m not sure if I have citizenship in Bahrain,” Demers said. “But it’s definitely something I might want to look into. I’m a little curious about it.”

Demers, who won the Pacific 10 Conference title in the 200-meter butterfly (1:45.62), had top-15 finishes in the 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley at the NCAA championships as a freshman. He was the only USC swimmer to score in three events. He will compete in all three again this year.

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Twice The Times Orange County prep swimmer of the year, Demers was second in the 200 freestyle at the Pac-10 championships and is one of the most versatile Trojan swimmers.

Kwok, who will compete in four events this week, used his dual residency status to compete in the 1996 Olympics. Swimming for Hong Kong, his best finish in four events was 20th in the 400-meter individual medley (4:31.13).

“That was awesome,” Kwok said. “It’s hard to explain what that meant to me. I’m just very happy to have had that opportunity.”

It’s a chance he probably wouldn’t have had otherwise. Making a U.S. Olympic team is a grueling road and, with only two swimmers taken out of the hundreds who try out in each event, the chances of making the team are slim.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily easier to make the team in Hong Kong,” Kwok said. “I just felt I had a much better chance of representing them. The U.S. is so competitive and so big and you never know if you are going to have a bad day on the wrong day.”

Kwok, who has qualified for the NCAA championships all four years at USC, said the international experience has done wonders for his career.

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“I’m a much better swimmer because of it,” he said. “You learn a lot about how to handle certain situations and a lot of opportunities to swim against the top swimmers in the world. In races like that, you have to swim a certain way.”

Kwok and Demers, who are roommates at the NCAA championships, will become competitors early next month when they travel to the World Short Course Championships. Kwok will compete for Hong Kong; Demers for the United States.

But due to the location of the meet, don’t expect Demers to stray far from his Trojan teammate.

“It’s in Hong Kong,” said Demers. “I’m going to need him to show me the ropes over there.”

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