Hong Kong team 'can make their mark' like me: Siobhan Haughey
The 17-year-old history-maker hopes she can inspire her teammates to achieve the same Olympic A qualifying standard she set in Kazan
Siobhan Haughey returned from the world championships confident of attaining a second Olympic A qualifying standard and hoping the Hong Kong team would be inspired to attain the same target.
The swimmers returned home yesterday after 17-year-old Haughey made the A mark in the women's 200-metre individual medley in Kazan, Russia, where she reached the event's semi-finals by clocking two minutes 13.07 seconds.
She also became the first Hong Kong swimmer to reach the A standard since Hong Kong first participated at the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952.
It was my target to achieve the A standard in the World Championships and the mission is completed
And Haughey, who will leave for the United States later this month to start campus life at the University of Michigan, has set sights on a second A standard in the 100 metres.
"It was my target to achieve the A standard in the World Championships and the mission is completed," she said. "Now I will look for the second one as I am about to start new training in a new environment.
"I have liked the 100 metres freestyle ever since I first started swimming at the age of nine and am pretty confident the swimming team in Michigan University can help me achieve my target.
"The coach has done a great job for the men's team before taking over the women's team and we had some discussions before I decided to join them. I am sure their training style and methods fit me well."