Haughey wins women’s 100m freestyle at China Open, Tang breaks own Asian record twice
Siobhan Haughey leads from start to finish in Shenzhen, while China’s Tang breaks women’s 50m breaststroke time in heats and in the final
Siobhan Haughey won women’s 100m freestyle gold by the narrowest of margins, Tang Qianting shattered her own Asian record twice in a matter of hours and there was more glory for teen sensation Yu Zidi on the opening day of the China Open Swimming Championships.
Returning to the site of her National Games glory in Shenzhen, Haughey led from start to finish to beat Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan by a hundredth of a second on Thursday, touching the wall at Longgang Universiade Centre Natatorium in 52.79 seconds.
O’Callaghan came home in 52.80, with compatriot Kate Douglas third in 53.40.
“I am very satisfied with today’s race; I really like this pool,” said Haughey, who won two gold and two bronze medals in the same venue last November.
The Hongkonger’s time was quicker than the 59.89 she managed that time around, and with the Asian Games her “major focus this year,” she said she was “hoping to improve in every competition leading up to it”.
China’s Tang, meanwhile, won the women’s 50m breaststroke final. Having clocked 29.49 seconds in the morning heats to eclipse her previous best of 29.51, the 22-year-old returned in the evening and lowered the mark again to 29.44.