Haughey can go faster than ever before at World Swimming Championships, coach says

Siobhan Haughey leads a 15-strong Hong Kong team to the Swimming World Championships, with her sights set on making more history

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Siobhan Haughey was the undisputed queen of the 200m freestyle at the Swimming World Cup. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:30am, 10 Dec 2024Updated: 5:31pm, 14 Dec 2024

Siobhan Haughey’s coach is backing the Hong Kong Olympian to be faster than ever before at this week’s World Aquatics Swimming Championships.

And Tom Rushton is tipping the 27-year-old to break her own 200-metres freestyle world record in Budapest, while suggesting his charge could dominate in the 100m event as well.

Haughey, who headlines a 15-strong squad of the city’s swimmers, goes into the six-day meet with four world titles already to her name – three in the 200m and one in the 100m.

In February, Haughey, who won two silver medals at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and two bronze in Paris this year, also took the long course world crown in the 200m.

She set the short course world record in the 200m freestyle in December 2021 at the world championships in Abu Dhabi, with a time of one minute, 50.31 seconds.

Siobhan Haughey took gold and set a world record in the women’s 200m freestyle at the 15th Fina World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi. Photo: EPA-EFE

“I think Siobhan could go best times in all of her main events,” Rushton said. “We’ve been a little bit frustrated with the long course 200 freestyle; we missed it by a few hundredths [of a second] a few times in the last year.