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Siobhan Haughey is ready to be back in action. Photo: Shirley Chui

Siobhan Haughey ‘anxious’ for competitive return, targets Hong Kong Open Swimming Championships

  • Olympian says ankle injury that forced her to miss World Championships left her ‘a little down’
  • The double silver medallist says she has already returned to full training and can’t wait to compete again

Siobhan Haughey has targeted a return to the pool next month at the Hong Kong Open Swimming Championships, saying she is “anxious” to return to action after several months out injured.

The double Olympic silver medallist revealed she had been “a little down” after missing the World Championships last month with an ankle injury that had plagued her since May.

But Haughey said she was recovering well after her poolside slip in Dubai and had already returned to full training.

Haughey vows to ‘speak for all athletes’ after Fina appointment

“I was a little down after withdrawing from the worlds, I’d been preparing for it for a long time,” the Hongkonger said.

“I’m lucky that it’s not Olympic year, and considering I still have many competitions ahead, withdrawal was the best way to make sure my ankle has enough time to recover, making sure I’m in good condition to prepare for [the Paris Olympics in] 2024.”

Haughey said the decision was ultimately made out of an abundance of caution and she had consulted “with specialists, including a doctor and physiotherapist, as well as coaches” before deciding what to do.

“If I had competed in the worlds as planned, it could have hurt my ankle because there are three rounds [from heats to semis to finals] to swim,” she said.

Siobhan Haughey is now fronting a new advertising campaign for insurance company AIA. Photo: Shirley Chui

In the absence of Australian pair Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell, the double Olympic silver medallist had been the favourite in the 100 metres and 200m freestyle at the World Championships.

But despite her preparation for the competition in Budapest being “very good” and her coach believing she could swim a good time, Haughey said “who was absent from the meet” never came into consideration.

The injury means that Haughey has not competed since the short-course World Championships in Abu Dhabi last December, where she won gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle, setting a short-course world record in the latter of 1 minute, 50.31 seconds.

Despite the injury, Haughey said she had continued to train every day, and when her ankle wasn’t strong enough she focused on her upper body.

Now though she is ready to get back into the pool, and after the Hong Kong event in August, she will take part in three of the world cup stops later this year, starting in Berlin on October 21, all of which will act as preparation for the short-course World Championships (25m) in Melbourne in mid-December.

“I haven’t competed this year, so I’m anxious and looking forward to being back,” the 24-year-old said. “I don’t think about defending my world [short-course] titles, I just want to swim my best. I believe that if I train hard enough, results will follow.”

Siobhan Haughey says working on the commercials proved to her that she was no good at acting. Photo: Shirley Chui

The swimmer’s success since her historic performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where she became the first Hongkonger to win two silvers at a Games, means there are high expectations every time she competes.

Haughey, who was elected as Fina’s Athlete Committee member last month, said she had developed “some strategies to keep this kind of encouragement and support from becoming a source of pressure for me”.

Those mostly involving not reading about herself in the media, and focusing on how to improve from the last Olympics.

Still, becoming a household name means that she is now in demand away from the pool too, and as well as working with the luxury fashion house Chanel, she is now fronting a new advertising campaign for insurance company AIA.

Haughey, who has been appointed an AIA Hong Kong & Macau Ambassador, was speaking at the launch of the ‘Going Beyond with You’ campaign, and said she would not be taking up acting full time.

“I discovered that I am not good at acting, and voice-over is not easy either, so I’m glad what I mostly did in the commercials was swimming,” she said.

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