Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey sets new Mare Nostrum record, goes close to world best in 200m freestyle
- Haughey wins 200m gold in Barcelona in a time of 1:54.57 seconds, knocking 00.9 seconds off Camille Muffat’s previous best
- Hongkonger was on pace to break Mollie O’Callaghan’s world record time of 1:52.85 before easing off in final 100m
Siobhan Haughey laid down a serious marker in her bid to become an Olympic champion, setting a new Mare Nostrum Swim Tour record in Barcelona and threatening to break the 200-metre freestyle world record on Thursday.
Haughey won the race in one minute, 54.57 seconds, shaving 0.09 seconds off Camille Muffat’s 2012 record and putting up the fifth-fastest 200m freestyle of the 2023-24 season, the fourth best of her career.
But the real story came in the first 100m of the race, with the double Olympic silver medallist on pace to break Australian Mollie O’Callaghan’s world record time of 1:52.85, set at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Haughey finished the first 50m in 26.99, just 0.06 seconds behind the world record. She then turned at the 100m mark in an impressive 55.77, 0.17 ahead.
By this time, the 26-year-old was more than one second ahead of her nearest rival, Belgian Valentine Valerie Dumont and took her foot off the gas.
Haughey hit the 150m mark at 1:24.85, 0.11 seconds off the history books and ultimately ended the race 1.72 seconds away from it.
Dumont took silver in 1:57.92, with Spain’s Ainhoa Campabadal Amezcua third in 1:59.34.
