Tokyo 2020: Siobhan Haughey no longer star struck, having beaten Katie Ledecky and setting US record for 200m freestyle
- Hong Kong’s Tokyo Olympics hope enjoys successful International Swimming League campaign by winning three 200m titles for DC Trident
- Haughey admits she used to be nervous swimming against world-class rivals but is now more relaxed and looking forward to the 2020 Games
Olympian Siobhan Haughey is no longer star struck when competing against the world’s top stars after winning three 200m titles in the International Swimming League while setting US and Hong Kong records.
The Hong Kong swimmer in November swam the fastest-ever time on US soil in the 200m short-course freestyle of one minute, 51.99 seconds during the College Park, Maryland leg of the ISL.
The dominant victory, for her DC Trident team, made it three out of three wins for the former University of Michigan swimmer in the ISL, which included a victory over teammate and Olympic legend Katie Ledecky.
In an interview with the Hong Kong Olympic Committee’s Olympic Voice magazine, Haughey admitted she was once in awe of her rivals.
“When I went to the Olympics for the first time [in Rio 2016], I was 18 and I saw star athletes everywhere,” she was quoted as saying. “It was hard for me to believe that I was in the same arena as them. My coach saw me on TV and said I looked nervous and tense. And I thought, ‘Well, of course, I’m surrounded by stars’.