Siobhan Haughey strikes gold again in 200m free in Canet for third win in Mare Nostrum series
- Coach says swimmer has ‘quality’ to reach finals at World Championships in South Korea next month
- Finishes with sub-25 second swim in the 50m freestyle, days after becoming first Hongkonger to break that mark
Siobhan Haughey was simply unstoppable as the Hong Kong star swimmer struck her third gold on the Mare Nostrum Tour in France on Tuesday.
Haughey hit 1:56.05 in Monaco, a time that checked in as the Michigan graduate’s second fastest ever and made her the fifth fastest swimmer in the event this year.
Triple Olympic gold medallist Hosszu, a medley and backstroke specialist, finished with the silver in Monaco, but was shut out of the medals in Canet, finishing fourth in 1:58.64.
In the shorter 50m freestyle, in which Haughey set a new Hong Kong record in Monaco, she came third in Canet with another under 25-second performance.
Hong Kong’s Haughey makes history at prestigious Mare Nostrum Series
In Monaco, Haughey clinched a record in 24.85, becoming the first-ever woman from Hong Kong to break the 25-second barrier. The former Michigan Wolverine wasn’t too far away in Canet, hitting 24.92.
Stephanie Au Hoi-shun also collected another medal for Hong Kong in the opening day competition in Canet when she clocked 28.23 seconds to finish third in the women’s 50m backstroke.
Au is coming off of a newly-minted Hong Kong record of 27.98 forged just days ago in Monaco. The 27-year-old is a three-time Olympian and is the holder of three other Hong Kong records in the 400m free, 800m free, and 100m backstroke.
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Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Georgia Davies clocked a winning mark of 27.97 to notch the only sub-28 second time of the pool, although a charging American in Phoebe Bacon closed just .05 behind.
Head coach Chen Jian-hong paid tribute to the performance of the two medallists, especially Haughey for collecting a number of gold medals in the tour.
“The tour is part of our warm-up for the World Championships and some of them performed really well, especially Haughey” said Chen.
“She definitely has the quality to reach the finals in Gwangju next month as you can tell from her results. But we won’t set any target for her in the final, hopefully she can have a good race without any pressure. Also we will be targeting the women’s relays in the World Championships to reach the Olympic A qualifying standard.
“The second leg in Canet has been tough for the swimmers as we arrived the city late in the evening because of traffic but had to start early in the morning. It is an outdoor pool and the conditions are difficult. Some young swimmers were therefore not able to deliver. They have learned a lesson.”
The second and last day of competitionin Canet will see Haughey aiming at a second gold in the 100-metre free after her win in Monaco.
Haughey will skip the final stop of the series in Barcelona next week to return to the US before heading to the Fina World Championships in South Korea from July 12-28.