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

Ryan General
·2 min read
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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 has earlier revealed that Ireland had approached her to represent the county 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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