Hong Kong News
Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
Real, Diverse, Unbiased.
Berlin treble for Haughey
Olympic medalist Siobhan Haughey was crowned overall champion at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin, as she won the 100-meter freestyle final to complete a hat-trick of gold medals.
The Hong Kong star posted 58.5 points from victories in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle events.
Haughey, 24, began the competition last Friday by breaking the Hong Kong 400m record of three minutes, 56.52 seconds.
In the 200m event, she led from the start, finishing in 1:51.36, a second off her short-course world-record time.
While her reaction time put her behind other swimmers at the start of the 100m final, she was just 0.07 seconds behind leading French swimmer Beryl Gastaldello after 25 meters, before pulling ahead by 0.22 seconds at the 50m mark.
Haughey won in 51.59 seconds - 0.8 seconds off her Asian and Hong Kong record. "After trying new techniques, I have a clearer idea of my ability. I hope to improve with every competition," she said.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau congratulated her on Facebook, saying: "Her [winning] performance has proven her ability."
Haughey will join the Hong Kong team in Canada for the second leg of the FINA World Cup in Toronto starting Friday. Alongside her will be Stephanie Au Hoi-shun, Adam Chillingworth, Lau Shiu-yue and Adam Mak Sai-ting.
Haughey won silver medals in the 200m and 100m freestyle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Hong Kong swimmer to win an Olympic medal.
In the 2021 International Swimming League following the Olympics, she was undefeated in the 200m freestyle and set the Asian women's 100m freestyle record of 50.79 seconds.
She followed her winning performances with gold in the 200m freestyle at the 2021 FINA Short-Course World Championships, breaking Sarah Sjostrom's 2017 world record by 0.12 seconds. She became the first Hong Kong swimmer to win a medal at the event, as well as the first athlete to hold a world record with her time of 1:50.31.
Haughey, 24, began the competition last Friday by breaking the Hong Kong 400m record of three minutes, 56.52 seconds.
In the 200m event, she led from the start, finishing in 1:51.36, a second off her short-course world-record time.
While her reaction time put her behind other swimmers at the start of the 100m final, she was just 0.07 seconds behind leading French swimmer Beryl Gastaldello after 25 meters, before pulling ahead by 0.22 seconds at the 50m mark.
Haughey won in 51.59 seconds - 0.8 seconds off her Asian and Hong Kong record. "After trying new techniques, I have a clearer idea of my ability. I hope to improve with every competition," she said.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau congratulated her on Facebook, saying: "Her [winning] performance has proven her ability."
Haughey will join the Hong Kong team in Canada for the second leg of the FINA World Cup in Toronto starting Friday. Alongside her will be Stephanie Au Hoi-shun, Adam Chillingworth, Lau Shiu-yue and Adam Mak Sai-ting.
Haughey won silver medals in the 200m and 100m freestyle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Hong Kong swimmer to win an Olympic medal.
In the 2021 International Swimming League following the Olympics, she was undefeated in the 200m freestyle and set the Asian women's 100m freestyle record of 50.79 seconds.
She followed her winning performances with gold in the 200m freestyle at the 2021 FINA Short-Course World Championships, breaking Sarah Sjostrom's 2017 world record by 0.12 seconds. She became the first Hong Kong swimmer to win a medal at the event, as well as the first athlete to hold a world record with her time of 1:50.31.
