Tokyo Olympics: Timely boost as Hong Kong women’s medley relay team qualify for Games
- Star swimmer Siobhan Haughey proves invaluable as she swims the butterfly leg with team smashing the Hong Kong record in 4 x 100m medley relay
- Prodigy Cheuk Ming-ho sets Hong Kong record in 100 metre freestyle and collects fourth Olympic B qualifying standard
At the Division 1 long course competition at Victoria Park swimming pool, one of the qualifying events for the Tokyo Games, a shift in the make-up of the squad worked wonders as the quartet of Stephanie Au Hoi-shun, Jamie Yeung Zhen-mei, Siobhan Haughey and Tam Hoi-lam swam an excellent time of four minutes and 1.77 seconds in the women’s 4x100-metre medley relay.
Star swimmer Haughey, who shifted from the anchor freestyle leg to butterfly in the third leg, steered the team to victory with an amazing leg of 56.96 seconds.
Siobhan Haughey to boost Hong Kong relay team qualify for Tokyo
“We knew we had to break into the top four to secure an Olympic berth and it seems the result was even faster than our expectations,” said Haughey, who has already qualified for three individual events for the Tokyo Games. “I was only told a couple of weeks ago that I had to take up the butterfly leg in the relay and I was still not fully used to it. But this is a good result.
“I also feel happy for Jamie as she now gets the chance to go to the Olympics. We have been training together at the University of Michigan and also in Hong Kong since the pandemic.”
Head swimming coach at the Sports Institute, Chen Jianhong, said they knew the butterfly had been their weakest leg in the relay and that Haughey could deliver the goods in the end.
“There are a number of swimming events on Sunday all over the world as the Olympic relay entry closes on Monday,” said the coach. “We may have to wait one more day to confirm all the results but Hong Kong’s performance should be good enough to send a team to Tokyo.”
Among the four squad members, breaststroker Yeung is the only one who has not qualified in any event for the Olympic Games but she’s an Olympian now. “The result is a team effort and I must thank my teammates and the coaches who all believed that we could do it,” said the University of Michigan graduate.
“Of course there was pressure before the race as this was our last chance.
“After the race, I was so happy that I did not know how to respond. It still takes some time for it to sink in with the feeling of going to the Olympic Games, especially now that I can go with Siobhan together. Super happy!
“The fans also helped as it was the first time in the home qualifiers had people cheering for us. I will have to work hard with the remaining two qualifiers and will try to qualify in my individual events.”
Cheuk Ming-ho coming close to achieving the Olympic A standard
In the men’s event, promising Cheuk Ming-ho failed in his attempt to reach the Olympic qualifying A standard in the 200-metre freestyle when he finished in a time of 1:47.70, but the young prodigy did break the Hong Kong record in the 100-metre freestyle held by Kenneth To King-him.
Cheuk won the race in 49.15 seconds, shattering the old mark of 49.22 seconds. The result also earned the 19-year-old another Olympic B qualifying standard. Cheuk now has four B standard times under his belt from 100 metres to 200 metres, 400 metres and 800 metres.
