Siobhan Haughey named 2019 Asian Female Swimmer of the Year by SwimSwam
- The 22-year-old Hong Kong Olympian collects another award to her growing mantelpiece after setting multiple records in another outstanding year
- Japan’s Daiya Seto is voted 2019 Asian Male Swimmer of the Year, beating out China’s three-time winner Sun Yang
Tokyo Olympics medal prospect Siobhan Haughey has enjoyed another banner year in the pool and the Hong Kong swimmer was rewarded for her efforts by being voted 2019 Asian Female Swimmer of the Year for the first time by respected swimming website SwimSwam.
What a year it has been for the 22-year-old who not only broke several Hong Kong records in 2019, including four in long course, she also set three records at the 2019 Mare Nostrum Tour in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle. She also bettered her own 200m freestyle record at this year’s Fina World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, where she was just two tenths of a second shy of making the podium, taking fourth place in the event. She was pipped at the finish by Sweden’s Sarah Sjoestroem for bronze but the Hong Kong-born swimmer is setting herself up for the grand finish with the Tokyo Olympics in her sights.
The University of Michigan graduate just last month swam the fastest-ever time on US soil in the 200m short-course freestyle, clocking one minute, 51.99 seconds during the College Park, Maryland leg of the International Swimming League (ISL).
In leading her DC Trident team to victory, she beat American Olympic legend Katie Ledecky in October in winning the opening leg of the ISL in Indianapolis in the 200m freestyle, although she played down her amazing victory over the five-time Olympic gold medallist and Rio 2016 champion.
Haughey enjoyed success at the 2019 NCAA Championships too, taking third place in the 100m and 200m freestyle. She was the Big Ten Champion in those events and set a Big Ten Conference record in the 100m free according to SwimSwam.
Carrying her good form to the Festival of Sport Time Trial in Hong Kong in April, she cemented her spot at the Tokyo Olympics by reaching the Fina “A” standards in the 100m and 200m freestyle at the Sports Institute in Fo Tan.