Siobhan Haughey eyes second World Championships medal after winning her 100m freestyle heat and semi-final
- The Hong Kong swimmer touches home in 51.97 seconds to put her first among 85 starters in the heats and also won her semi-final heat in 51.82
- Haughey also steers Hong Kong’s mixed 4x50m freestyle relay team into the final after they record the fifth-fastest time
Siobhan Haughey is on course for a potential second gold medal at the short-course World Championships in Abu Dhabi, UAE after finishing first in the women’s 100-metre freestyle heats and second-fastest in the semi-finals on Friday.
The Hong Kong swimmer, who won the 200m freestyle gold on Thursday, topped the time sheets in 51.97 seconds in heat nine and although it was slower than her personal best, it was the fastest among all 85 starters in the heats.
She then swam 51.82 to win semi-final 2 and qualify for the final. Haughey swam a Hong Kong record 50.79 seconds when she won the final of the International Swimming League in Eindhoven, the Netherlands early this month for her team Energy Standard.
Her teammate Sarah Sjostrom – who skipped the 200m freestyle in Abu Dhabi and saw Haughey shatter her world record – was second fastest in the heats, winning her race in 52.21, but was quickest in semi-final 1, clocking 51.53 to set up a showdown with Haughey.
The semi-finals featured the top 16 swimmers, with the best eight advancing to Saturday’s final.
Haughey also steered Hong Kong into the final of the mixed freestyle 4x50m relay. Joining Ng Cheuk-yin, Ian Ho Yentou and Tam Hoi-lam, the quartet finished fifth in the heats with a time of 1:31.33.
Other Hong Kong swimmers were unable to go beyond the heats.
