Asian Games 2023: swimmer Siobhan Haughey smashes her own Hong Kong record en route to bronze double
- Double Olympic champion Haughey breaks her own city record twice on way to first medal in Hangzhou
- She still had enough left in the tank to help her teammates finish third in the 4x100m freestyle relay final
Siobhan Haughey got her Asian Games off to a record-setting start on Sunday, claiming bronze in the women’s 50m breaststroke, an event she had previously called “a bit of fun”.
The Hongkonger broke her own city record twice on her way to her first medal of the Games, and still had enough left in the tank to help her teammates finish third in the final of the 4x100m freestyle relay.
On a day when hosts China dominated in the pool, winning every gold on offer, Haughey’s performance, in an individual event that has not traditionally been a strength, bodes well for the rest of the week.
She smashed her previous best time and Hong Kong record of 31.21, which she set in Florida in March, in the heats, finishing as the second-fastest qualifier in 30.46.
The double Olympic silver medallist then lowered that time again in the final, touching the wall in 30.36, but that was still some way behind China’s Tang Qianting, who took gold in 29.96, which wasn’t even her fastest time of the day.
Tang had earlier set a new Asian record and Games record of 29.92 at the aquatics centre in Hangzhou.
