Olympic Silver Makes Haughey Hong Kong's First Swimming Medalist Ever
7/27/2021 10:44:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
TOKYO, Japan -- University of Michigan women's swimming and diving alumna Siobhán Haughey made history for Hong Kong Wednesday morning (July 28) at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, earning a 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle to become Hong Kong's first swimming Olympic medalist.
Haughey's 1:53.92 was .42 off the new Olympic record set by winner Ariarne Titmus of Australia. Canada's Penny Oleksiak placed third.
Haughey put together a beautiful final race, hitting the wall third after the first 50 meters and owning the middle 100 meters with splits of 28.33 and 29.08 to take a lead. Her final 50-meter split of 29.74 trailed only Titmus, as the Aussie closed in 28.80 to finish just ahead of Haughey. A 14-time NCAA All-American at Michigan, Haughey set a new Asian record with her time, bettering the previous record (1:54.57) set by China's Junxuan Yang earlier this year.
After finishing the 200-meter freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics in 1:57.56 and failing to make it to the final, Haughey was fourth in the event at the 2019 World Championships. She burst into the public eye in Tokyo with her impressive 1:55.16 in her semifinal heat, placing her between Titmus and United States' legend Katie Ledecky.
Haughey becomes the third member of the Michigan women's and diving swimming program to win a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, joining rising senior Maggie MacNeil of Canada (gold, 100-meter butterfly; silver, 4x100-meter freestyle relay) and fellow 2019 alumna Catie DeLoof of the United States (bronze, 4x100-meter freestyle relay).
• 200-meter Freestyle (Final): 2. Siobhán Haughey (1:53.92)
• Results and Video (NBCOlympics.com)
Players Mentioned
