Tokyo Olympics: Siobhan Haughey reflects on physical and mental sacrifices in Tokyo and why she was ‘so glad’ to race with teammates despite injury

The 23-year-old swam Tokyo 2020 team medley relay with an injured hip – ‘that’s just what athletes are like’

Haughey talks importance of team support, training for more than 30 hours a week, and overcoming feelings of isolation

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Hong Kong silver medallist swimmer Siobhan Haughey and other Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games athletes on a bus parade in Hong Kong in August. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:00pm, 30 Aug 2021Updated: 10:24pm, 31 Aug 2021

There was no way Hong Kong swimming star Siobhan Haughey was going to let her 4x100-metre medley relay team down despite already winning two Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games silver medals and injuring her hip in a preceding heat.

After sealing her two medals and qualifying for the 50m freestyle semi-final, coach Rick Bishop recalled Haughey said, “I don’t think I can walk up the stairs” before the pair decided to pull out of the category. “She’s so tough and stoic. She’s not going to let you know she is hurt,” Bishop said of Haughey, who nonetheless turned up for the team relay the same day.

Swimming may appear on the surface to be an individual endeavour, but as the four-time Asian record breaker explained, her success in the sport requires relentless backing from every teammate and vice versa. Had she not raced, Camille Cheng Lily-mei would only have swam once, while Jamie Yeung Zhen-mei and Toto Wong Kwan-to would have returned home without any first-hand competitive experience.

“It was the Olympics. I really wanted to swim a relay at the Olympics with the Hong Kong team. I train with them every day so they’re not only my teammates but good friends,” said Haughey in a webinar for South China Morning Post’s Student of the Year Awards, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The 23-year-old is a former winner herself and shared her “multilayered” goal-setting process, how to get up after a setback, and other life advice to students.

“It’s not just you in the lane. In another sense it’s a team sport because when you’re swimming you don’t see a lot of people and you’re not really talking, but every day I was so glad to have these teammates in training. We cheer on each other and make each other swim better. I wanted to do the relay so we could complete the whole Olympic journey together.

“Rick knows me really well. He knows I don’t really like to speak out if I’m hurt, and when I’m racing, honestly, I don’t feel it because of the adrenaline rush and the excitement. That’s just what athletes are like, they always think they’re really tough and are great at pushing through the pain. I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do but I was at the Olympics and wanted to perform my best. I’m so glad we did the relay.”