Siobhan Haughey is the first Hong Kong swimmer to win an Olympic medal. She created history by taking Silver in the women’s 200m freestyle. Her second place finish was just 0.42 seconds behind Australia’s Ariarne Titmus. She made it into the semi finals five years ago at Rio 2016. She worked very hard for the Tokyo Olympics for the last 5 years.
Haughey was born in HongKong in 1997 to Irish dad Darach and mother Canjo, a Hongkonger. Her parents taught Siobhan and her sister how to swim at a pool in their home complex. She began taking formal swimming lessons when she was only four years old. As she started winning local competitions, HongKong fans started calling her ‘Little Fish’. The Tokyo Games are her second Olympics after Rio in 2016.
Haughey competes with the Energy Standard team in the International Swimming League. According to her, the competition helped her to improve her performance in the pool. During the course of events she also learned how to manage intense racing programmes and how to give her best even under pressure.
Even before the Tokyo Games, Haughey was an accomplished college athlete. While representing the University of Michigan, she earned the Big 10 Medal of Honour in 2019. She also won Gold in the 100m freestyle at the 2013 World Junior Championships.She has been awarded with Hong Kong Junior Sports Stars Award in 2013 and 2014. She has won Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards in 2017 and 2019.
She has won SwimSwam Asian Female Swimmer of the Year twice in 2019 and 2020. She has won many awards and honours. She has truly represented the high spirit of diligent efforts and consistent approach. Her achievements and success are inspiring and motivating. She has set a paradigm for all the young girls.