HK swimmer Siobhan Haughey makes history, wins two silver Olympic medals in one week

July 30, 2021

Swimmer Siobhan Bernadette Haughey won two silver medals at the Tokyo Games this week, making her Hong Kong‘s first-ever Olympic double medal winner.

Historic silvers: The 23-year-old swimmer first earned a silver medal in the 200m freestyle on Wednesday before winning another silver medal in the 100m freestyle on Friday, reported the Associated Press.

Australia’s Emma McKeon set an Olympic record of 51.96 to win the gold in the 100m race, while Haughey clocked hers at 52.27 seconds.
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus claimed the gold in the 200m with an Olympic record time of one minute and 53.50 seconds versus Haughey’s one minute and 53.92 seconds.
Haughey’s two silver medals are the first medals won by any Hong Kong athlete in swimming.
“This is crazy and surreal,” Haughey was quoted as saying. “The 200 free is always my main event, so the 100 is more like a bonus for me. My goal is just to go in and have fun and swim a best time, and I did that.”

Proud Hong Konger: Haughey, who has an Irish father and Hong Kong Chinese mother, was born and raised in Hong Kong where she learned to speak Cantonese, a recent interview with Asia Tatler revealed.

According to the swimmer, her 30-hour weekly workout involves 10 sessions in the pool, three gym visits, and yoga.
Haughey, who describes herself as a very shy and quiet person, said she would sometimes need to give a brief history of her background when meeting new people.
“A lot of times, people are confused by my identity when they first meet me,” she said. “To them, I look white, but then they realize I’m from Hong Kong and find out that I’m fluent in Cantonese, but have a slight Irish accent when I speak English.”

Haughey earlier revealed that Ireland had approached her to represent the country before the 2016 Rio Olympic Games but “chose to represent Hong Kong because I was born there, raised there, and feel connected and proud to represent Hong Kong.”

Featured Image via beIN Sports Asia

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