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Siobhan Haughey Hits 1:54.8 In 200 Free, World’s #3 Time This Season

Siobhan Haughey swam a career-best 50 free and the world’s #3 200 free of the season at the Hong Kong Festival of Sport Time Trial.

The meet took place on April 18 in Hong Kong. Haughey swam a trio of freestyle events in the long course meters meet, including the fastest 50 meter free of her career.

Full results (long course meters / LCM) available here

Haughey went 24.83 in the 50 free. That shaves .02 off her career-best, set back in 2019. Haughey was already the national record-holder there, and lowers her own Hong Kong mark.

The 23-year-old Haughey also won the 200 free, going 1:54.89. That’s only about four tenths of a second off her own national record. The time ranks #3 worldwide this season, behind only Katie Ledecky‘s 1:54.40 and Yang Junxuan‘s 1:54.70.

2020-2021 LCM Women 200 Free

AriarneAUS
Titmus
06/14
1:53.09
2Siobhan
Haughey
HKG1:53.9207/28
3Yang
Junxuan
CHN1:54.3707/29
4Katie
Ledecky
USA1:54.4004/09
5Penny
Oleksiak
CAN1:54.7007/28
View Top 26»

Haughey also won the 100 free in 53.65 – only about three tenths of a second off her best time and national record.

The Hong Kong Festival of Sport had a fairly small swimming field, with only a handful of athletes per event. Ming Ho Cheuk went 3:50.53 to win the 400 free. That took two and a half seconds off his own national record. He won the 200 free in another national mark: 1:47.97.

The meet also featured Ian Hothe national record-holder in the men’s 50 free. He won the 50 free in 22.48, about three-tenths off the Hong Kong national mark he set in the summer of 2019.

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gimme
3 years ago

https://www.hkasa.org.hk/zh-hant/viewfile/?file=dXBsb2FkL3RlbXBsYXRlLzI5OTcvcGRmX2ZpbGVzXzIvNjA3ZDEwMmJlYjJjMi5wZGY=

says:

Ms. HAUGHEY, Siobhan Bernadette Women 200m Freestyle 1:54.89 OQT (A Time) and HK Record 

it’s not “national record“.

Yozhik
Reply to  gimme
3 years ago

Can it be counted as Chinese national record? What is actually a definition of national record? Is it defined by FINA’s membership?

Admin
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

The definition of a national record is the supreme governing body of a sport in that country declaring its rules and making it one.

You can create your own Chinese National Records if you want and use whatever criteria you like; whether they mean something or not is dependent on whether the public at large agrees with and respects your criteria.

Yozhik
Reply to  Braden Keith
3 years ago

Got it. So whatever majority of the public decides that will it be. Make sense. No bureaucratic rules.
Then we can congratulate Siobhan with the Chinese record. 😀

gimme
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

of course, if the following should be counted as American national records:

fina.org | Official FINA Website

Daniel Takata
3 years ago

This 1:54.89 is definitely a new national record, since her 1:54.44 from last year doesn’t count as it was obtained in a time trial – it doesn’t even appear on the records’ list on the Hong Kong’s Federation website.

Yozhik
Reply to  Daniel Takata
3 years ago

Do you have information how this 1:54.44 was done?
Today’s splits
26.86 – 28.96 – 29.57 – 29.50
That is the fastest start of anybody who swam 200 at more or less decent level this season. And that is characterizing her as a sprinter who tries to hold for 100 more meters. Don’t see much of hidden reserves left with such approach to this race. Even such an outstanding sprinter like Sjostrom does this race differently.

Brownish
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

She started faster at that time. 26.35-28.86-29.65-29.58

Yozhik
Reply to  Brownish
3 years ago

Thank you!
200 splits are like biological signature. So let’s keep eye out for her times in 100 races. If she breaks her personal best 53.30 or becomes 52 sprinter then I will consider her a real threat for the medal of any quality in 200 olympic race.

Yozhik
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

In Rio Ledecky’s first 100 was actually even faster 55.40
But she was at that time 53.0 sprinter (52.6 relay start).
Want we that or not but in reality it looks like 200 event is closer to sprint than to middle distances.

Yozhik
Reply to  Brownish
3 years ago

Hungary is becoming the country most hit by Covid (deaths per capita). Just wish you to be very careful these days.

Brownish
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

Statistics. Anybody dies and positive for Covid is dying in Covid here.
Thanks, as a radiologist I have to perhaps even more.
Hungary is nearly the most vaccinated country in Europe today so hopefully everything will be better pretty soon.

Last edited 3 years ago by Brownish
Yozhik
Reply to  Brownish
3 years ago

Statistics can do whatever she is asked to do, especially if data sources are manipulated by politicians. My information is from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Nice to hear that things are getting better there.

Chad
3 years ago

I’m predicting the podium will go Ledecky, Titmus, Haughey (in that order). I can see Ledecky getting just under that American record as well. Her speed work has been improving like crazy for someone out of college and I don’t think a 1:53.5 is out of the question once she tapers.

kevin
Reply to  Chad
3 years ago

Emma will get the third spot , lets wait for the American and Aussie trials before u start picking the winner

Chad
Reply to  kevin
3 years ago

Obviously I’m just making this prediction trying to speculate on what the Aussie performances will be like. I think Haughey will have the slight edge. No way I’m waiting until June to start making my speculative predictions lol

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  kevin
3 years ago

Tell that to GMM.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Chad
3 years ago

Way too early to tell.

Verram
3 years ago

It’s looking like it would take a 1:53 swim in Tokyo to guarantee a medal ..

Kudzai
Reply to  Verram
3 years ago

Perhaps the gold medal… Ledecky definitely needed a 1.53.73 to hold off Sjostrom for the Olympic gold in Rio…. 200free always a tactical race…. It will be fast in Tokyo…. Perhaps all medallists will be in the 1.54 range…. May take a 1.55high/1.56.0 to make the final though…. Will be a great race definitely

Yozhik
Reply to  Verram
3 years ago

Why do you think so. All major 200 FR players besides Ledecky are around their usual end-of-training-season marks.
Pellegrini hasn’t forced herself in 200 yet but she swam 53 in 100 and that is prerequisite for her to be 1:54 swimmer.
Sjostorm and Rock have not shown yet what they are up to this season but there are also no indications of them to be under 1:54.

Andy
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

Sjorstrom won’t recover in time from her elbow break for a 200 distance event…

Yozhik
Reply to  Andy
3 years ago

And even if she gets to her perfect form she may not race 200FR remembering how costly it’s happened to be in Rio. But she does have 1:54.08 and she has more than anybody else performances among first ten best (including Pellegrini’s suit results). So it would be irresponsible for any medal contenders in this event just ignore her as a potential competitor.

Last edited 3 years ago by Yozhik
Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Yozhik
3 years ago

She can’t even do a pushup yet. I think you can ignore her for the 200 without disrespecting her. I doubt she could break 2:00 right now. She’s progressing, but she lost two inches of muscle mass on that arm.

Yozhik
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
3 years ago

Well, Sjostrom lost her muscles, Ruck was under 1:55 last time three years ago. The only sprinters left who can possibly go under 1:54.5 (if they got lucky) are Haughey and McKeon.
Not that exciting, I would say.
Longer distances swimmers like Pellegrini, Titmus and Ledecky are having similar second half. So the competition will be who of them swims faster first 100.
Kind of weird – middle/long distance swimmers will be competing basically in sprint. The podium at 200FR can become very predictable.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Verram
3 years ago

Only two female swimmers have gone sub 1:54.00 in the women’s 200 meter freestyle wearing a textile suit.

john26
3 years ago

wasn’t Haughey also 1:54.4 this past year as well? It’s often missing in the rankings

Troyy
Reply to  john26
3 years ago

I don’t think it counts because it was just a time trial. Also I think it was before the start of the 2020-2021 season?

Jackman
Reply to  john26
3 years ago

That was in August 2020, so think it may not be included

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Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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