Gold medalist Siobhan Haughey stands during the medal ceremony for the Women's 200m Freestyle final at the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Dec 16, 2021. (KAMRAN JEBREILI / AP)
ABU DHABI – Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong, China broke the women's 200m freestyle world record as the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) opened in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Haughey, 24, has been in great form this season, setting the six best times over the distance this year. She finally claimed her first world title in the short-course World Championships with the fastest ever result of one minute and 50.31 seconds.
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"I knew I was close to the world record, I got close recently a few times and everyone around me kept telling me I could do it," said Haughey who sliced 0.12 seconds off of Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom's previous record set in 2017.
I knew I was close to the world record, I got close recently a few times and everyone around me kept telling me I could do it.
Siobhan Haughey, Olympic silver medalist
"I just tried not to think about that as all I wanted to do is really focus on my race plan; how I was going to swim well," added the Olympic silver medalist.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai congratulated Haughey for her feat.
Canada's Rebecca Smith was 1.93 seconds behind Haughey in second, while Paige Madden from the United States took the bronze medal in 1:53.01.
In the men's 200m individual medley final, Japan's Daiya Seto won the race in 1:51.15, meaning the 27-year-old has taken one gold from each edition of the short-course World Championships.
China's defending champion Wang Shun finished fifth in 1:53.41. The top four swimmers all touched the wall within 1:52.00.
READ MORE: HK's Haughey cruises through women's 100m freestyle semis
Elsewhere, Alberto Razzetti of Italy not only won the men's 200m butterfly, but also took bronze in the 200m individual medley.
Siobhan Haughey swims to break a World Record in the Women's 200m Freestyle Final on Day One of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Dec 16, 2021. (KAMRAN JEBREILI / AP)
CONGRATULATIONS POUR IN
Congratulating Haughey, CE Lam said she has written a glorious chapter for Hong Kong swimming. The people of Hong Kong are excited and the city’s sports sector wraps up the year perfectly with this new world record, she said in a social media post.
“I sincerely congratulate Siobhan, and hope that she will continue to achieve good results and bring glory to Hong Kong,” she said.
The SAR government will continue to fully support Hong Kong athletes and promote the all-round development of sports, the CE added.
In a separate message, HKSAR secretary for home affairs also congratulated Haughey, saying: “We are proud of her. Her victory has been very encouraging to Hong Kong athletes."
After winning two silver medals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Siobhan Haughey has performed brilliantly again in the international competition, he said.