World Aquatics Championships: Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey wins historic first gold in 200 metres freestyle, and says ‘finally!’
- Haughey is dominant in Doha to claim her first ever gold – and Hong Kong’s – in a global championships or Games held in an Olympic-standard 50m pool
- ‘I know a lot of people are watching and their support means so much to me,’ she says. ‘I keep getting all these nice messages and I hope I make them proud’
Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong said she was glad the wait was over after she won a historic first gold medal for her city at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha.
The 26-year-old dominated the 200 metres freestyle final in the early hours of Thursday, Hong Kong time, delivering a masterclass in her signature event to finish ahead of Erika Fairweather of New Zealand.
It was her first global gold in an Olympic-standard 50m pool, following fourth-place finishes in the 2019 and 2023 editions, and missing the 2022 worlds because of injury. Small wonder, then, that her reaction was: “Finally!”
“Finally, I get to not only be on the podium, but on top of it,” she told governing body World Aquatics.
“This means so much – first gold medal for Hong Kong. I know a lot of people are watching and their support means so much to me. I keep getting all these nice messages and I hope I make them proud.”
Haughey was a body length clear at the halfway point, under world-record pace at 150m, then slowed marginally to touch the wall in one minute, 54.89 seconds.
Her rival Fairweather, who had beaten her in the semi-final, was a distant second in 1:55.77. Third was Brianna Throssell of Australia, in 1:56.00.
She was already the world record-holder and twice a world champion over 200m in “short-course” swimming, held in 25m venues.
But her all-important golden long-course breakthrough comes in the very year of the Paris Olympics, in which she will aim to stand tallest on the biggest stage of all. She claimed 100m and 200m silvers at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Paris may require something extra, with Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus – who kept her off the podium in this race last year – among several absent from the present championships. Haughey’s fastest time, though, is almost a second faster than she swam in Doha.
“Obviously I wish the time [here] was a little better but I think there’s a lot to learn from this race,” she told Olympics.com. “We still have a few more months until Paris 2024, so hopefully we can work on those things and be even more competitive.
“I always have this natural speed, so I tend to go out a bit faster than everyone else. I think I may have gone out a little too fast, but that’s the thing about going to races, you trial different things to see what works and what doesn’t.
“The 200 freestyle is the event I mostly train for, so there is a bit more pressure to that, so I just told myself before the race to stay calm, stay relaxed and enjoy it. I’ve swum the 200 free so many times, so my body knows what to do.”
On becoming her city’s first world champion, she said: “I’m the first one, but hopefully there’s more to come in the future.
“We have a very young team here and maybe this is a learning opportunity for them as well, and in a few years’ time they could become world champions.”
Haughey was congratulated by Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, who said she “never stops pushing her limits and making breakthroughs”.
“The achievement brings her to new heights and demonstrates her power and strength as an elite athlete,” Yeung said. “I’m very proud of her and I wish her success in other competitions.”
Haughey’s first medal at Doha’s Aspire Dome had been her surprise third place 24 hours earlier in the 100m breaststroke, which she viewed as being “just for fun”. And after the first taste of the serious business, she was back in the pool for the 100m freestyle on Thursday afternoon Hong Kong time.
She won her heat in 53.70 seconds to progress third-fastest to the overnight semi-finals, with a likely final to follow in the early hours of Saturday.
In other results, Japan’s Tomoru Honda won the men’s 200m butterfly and Daniel Wiffen claimed Ireland’s first ever medal with gold in the 800m freestyle. Sam Williamson gave Australia its first gold of the week, in the men’s 50m breaststroke, with Britain’s Adam Peaty, the world-record holder, coming fourth.
