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Mike Chan

China’s Yu Zidi was less than a year old when Siobhan Haughey first made the world sit up and take notice of her talent in the pool, 13 years later they are both Asian Games gold medallists and young talent is the order of the day.
On Monday, Haughey defended her women’s 200m freestyle title with a crushing victory, and Yu laid down an Asian record in winning the women’s 200m individual medley.
Three years ago in Hangzhou, it was Haughey setting regional and Games records, and while not “as fast as I would like”, the 28-year-old Olympian was also quick to highlight the way the sport was developing the next generation.
“The general consensus is we have more and more great young swimmers swimming well,” Haughey said. “When Summer [McIntosh] first started she was also very young and swimming fast, so I think that’s kind of the ‌trend these days.
“Hopefully, swimming well that young, you can also translate to as you get older and well into your 20s ‌and ‌beyond, so it’s exciting for the swimming world.”
It’s not just the global talent that has Haughey excited, there was also the fact she was not the only Hongkonger in her race or others.

Debutant Gilaine Ma, 18, also made the final, while there were appearances too for Adam Mak Sai-ting, 20, and Nicholas Cheung Chi-kit, 21, in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
“The fact that it’s not just me swimming in the final this time is amazing and rare,” Haughey said. “It tells you that the development of our swimming team over the past few years has been really good; this is very encouraging.”
Monday’s victory marked the fourth multi-sport games medal Haughey had won in this venue, after taking home two silver medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games five years ago, but she said the experience was almost incomparable.
“The settings are different; and here we have the full crowd as well, whereas there was no one on the stands back then,” said Haughey, who pushed her Asian Games gold medal count to three.
“It’s almost difficult to imagine it’s the same venue, but the memories come back when I walk past the warm-up pool or some other areas.”
Still, it was not just the effort of the veteran swimmer that should be celebrated.
Just one day after the decorated Haughey heaped praise on the city’s young generation of swimmers, Ma, who was part of the squad that took the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay silver on the opening night, put herself in the same bracket as some of the region’s top swimmers.
Ma’s qualifying time of 2:00.57 in the heat was only 0.08 seconds off her personal best, eventually finishing fifth out of the 10 finalists, and she did it in style, slicing 0.74 seconds off her previous best time, which was achieved only in April at a local time trial event.
“I think I did really well; in some previous major tournaments I felt nervous, but I was very calm so far,” Ma said. “Of course, there can still be a lot of improvement for me, but in terms of my competitive form this time, it’s 100 marks for me.
“For everything I had prepared [in my training], I left it all in the pool. Obviously, I am very happy, and I also feel there is so much hope [regarding my future]. I am just beginning my university years, and with this result, I think there’s just so much hope in my training for the next four years.”
From looking up to her idol Haughey, to swimming the opening relay leg before handing over to her, Ma has now even competed in the same final as Haughey, just a couple of lanes from the four-time Olympic medallist.
“She’s still my idol no matter what, and after I had experienced so much with her, I learned more about her,” she said. “Aside from her outstanding athletic performance, she has a great personality – she really cares about her teammates and, since we’re younger, often gives us pointers and guidance.

“Siobhan is both hardworking and humble; she inspires me to strive for improvement in swimming while also becoming a better person outside of the pool.”
With the 200m freestyle her major event, Ma was following in the footsteps of Haughey not only in the water, but also outside of the pool.
The Diocesan Girls’ School graduate was embracing her first year at the University of Michigan, where Haughey, who majored in psychology, graduated in 2019.
Ma said, “I want to be a doctor in the future,” but revealed she still has a year before she decides on her major subject.
With Haughey potentially swimming towards the end of her career with each appearance, she was delighted to see her young teammates stepping onto the bigger stage together.
“It’s truly meaningful to see someone who had idolised me for years swimming next to me in an Asian Games final,” she said. “I’ve always said, yes, I am doing my own thing in the water, but if I can inspire someone else, it’s very good.
“Gilaine, she may have been watching me compete and train just a few years ago, and now, seeing she’s right beside me doing the same thing, it’s like what I did was endowed with more meaning.
“I just said, ‘Add oil, good luck, you’ve got this’ to her before the final. Yes, they may be young, but all of them have their own ways to deal with these major tournaments, so just some encouraging words will do, telling them that they’re not alone in this race, and that they have another teammate with them.”


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Siobhan Haughey defended her women’s 200m freestyle title with a crushing victory at the Asian Games. Photo: Robert Ng

Gilaine Ma (left) and Siobhan Haughey after the women’s 200m freestyle final at the Asian Games. Photo: Robert Ng

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The 28-year-old was in the 200m freestyle final with Gilaine Ma, while Adam Mak and Nicholas Cheung were in men’s 100m breaststroke


The 28-year-old was in the 200m freestyle final with Gilaine Ma, while Adam Mak and Nicholas Cheung were in men’s 100m breaststroke.


Siobhan Haughey

Yu Zidi

Summer McIntosh

Siobhan Haughey leads by example, inspiring the next generation of Hong Kong swim stars

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 28-year-old was in the 200m freestyle final with Gilaine Ma, while Adam Mak and Nicholas Cheung were in men’s 100m breaststroke

The 28-year-old was in the 200m freestyle final with Gilaine Ma, while Adam Mak and Nicholas Cheung were in men’s 100m breaststroke