Tokyo Olympic medal prospect Siobhan Haughey hopes her rare appearance at this weekend’s Hong Kong Open swimming championships will inspire the next generation of stars who could one day emulate her exploits.
The 22-year-old swimmer, who achieved Hong Kong’s best-ever result at the world championships in Gwangju last month, was joined by her younger clubmates in the women’s 4x100 metre medley relay at Victoria Park, providing a golden opportunity for them to compete alongside the multiple national record holder.
Although Haughey’s South China Athletic Association (SCAA) finished third in the race, the University of Michigan star enjoyed the occasion teamming up with her young teammates.
“One of my relay members is only 13 years old, just like I was many years ago when I was a young swimmer in the same event,” said Haughey, who won the 50 metre freestyle in 25.08 seconds after clocking 25.46 in her heat. “Over the last two days, many young swimmers told me they had watched me swim at the world championships on TV and now some of them are actually swimming with me. I am sure somehow they will be inspired by the opportunity.”
Haughey’s coach at SCAA sent her a videotape of the young swimmers reacting to her performance in Gwangju, where she came within 0.2 seconds of winning bronze in the 200 metres freestyle.
“I was really moved to tears when I watched the video,” she said. “I hope these young swimmers can follow in my footsteps and reach my level one day.”
Haughey said she would use the next 12 months to improve her form n time for next year’s Tokyo Games.
“There is room for improvement definitely,” said Haughey, who will still train with the University of Michigan team after graduating this summer. “I have improved a lot in my start since my arrival in the US and there should also be room for improvement on my turns. I will discuss this with my coach when I return to the United States and see what sort of things we can do about it.”
Fina World Championships: Siobhan Haughey wins 200m freestyle semi-final
Haughey’s 1:54:98 in the 200 metre freestyle final in Gwangju was very close to the Asian record of 1:54:85 held by Ikee Rikako of Japan, who is now undergoing treatment for blood cancer.
“I won’t set a specific target for breaking the Asian record as I don’t want to restrict my performance to that level,” she said. “Maybe I can swim faster than that record ... I will try.”
Haughey’s teammate at the University of Michigan, Jamie Yeung Zhen-mei, won the women’s 100 metre breaststroke. Her time of 1:09.95 is still a way from matching the Olympic A standard 1:07.07 but she hoped to make it before the qualification ends next year.
“My personal best is about 0.7 second behind the A standard and I will work this out with my coach at the university when I return to the US,” said Yeung.
The final day of the three-day race will move to the Sports Institute in Fo Tan because of the protests at Victoria Park on Sunday.
