Siobhan Haughey warns Asian Games and World Championships rivals she’s chasing her ‘best times’ this summer
- Hong Kong swimming sensation booked her ticket to 2024 Paris Games in the 200m and 400m freestyle at Pro Swim Series in Florida last weekend
- Next up is the Long Course Swimming Time Trial at the Hong Kong Sports Institute over April 15-16, with the 25-year-old in red hot form
Siobhan Haughey is not fooling around in her quest for top honours, with the double Olympic silver medallist looking to post her “best times this summer” at the World Championships and the Asian Games.
The 25-year-old is in red-hot form, and booked her ticket to the 2024 Paris Games in the 200m and 400m freestyle – with a city record in the latter, to boot – at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last weekend, in what was her first major long-course competition in nearly two years.
Next up is the Long Course Swimming Time Trial at the Hong Kong Sports Institute over April 15-16, where she is expected to meet more Olympic qualifying standards in her home city, including in the 50m and 100m freestyle.
Haughey said the Pro Swim was a “good rehearsal” for July’s World Championships in Fukuoka and the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, having competed in the 200m freestyle – her main event – and the 50m breaststroke on the same day.
She finished with two third-place finishes, one A-cut in the free and one city record in the breaststroke.
“It is not easy and very painful [to swim two different strokes] in a day. But it is good training,” Haughey said.
“It’s more like seeing where I’m at and practising a lot of events in the same sessions because the World Championships and the Asian Games are coming up, and I will have all these relays and individual events, so I just want to see what it’s like and do multiple events to see if I can recover. It’s like a rehearsal.
“I used to swim breaststroke when I was younger, and this is pretty early on in the season. We try to swim different strokes, different events. It is always nice to do our best times, no matter what the event is.
“I’m really happy with the results. I think my time was around what I’ve expected at this point of the season and I’m really happy with this, and I’m on the right track.”
The Hongkonger, who is on her way back to the city, will fly to the United States for an altitude camp before the time trial, having travelled to Israel for a six-week training camp with her coach Tom Ruston before the Pro Series in Florida.
“It’s nice to go to different places [for training] because you can switch up the training environment, you do not feel stuck in one place,” Haughey said.
“We have a group of people I’ll train with – everyone is very fast and very competitive, and they are good people to hang out with.”
Haughey is also primed for more success outside the pool, as well – she is the hot favourite to get the nod again for the “Best of the Best” female athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards, with voting closing later this week.
The prize presentation will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 18, just two days after the time trial finishes.
The public still has until March 12 to vote for their sporting heroes, with 20 per cent of the vote going to local sports editors and reporters, and 50 per cent to a judging panel.
Haughey, who won her first “Best of the Best” award last year, is a shoo-in to retain the trophy, having won a gold medal at the short course World Championships and seven gold medals in World Cup events in 2022.
Epeeist Vivian Kong Man-wai and cue star Ng On-yee are second and third in the public vote, respectively, for the women’s Sports Stars award, while fencer Cheung Ka-long leads the men’s side ahead of vaulter Shek Wai-hung and tennis prodigy Coleman Wong Chak-lam.
There will be four categories awarded, including five Sports Stars per gender, with one male and one female receiving the “Best of the Best” award for receiving the most votes.
