Siobhan Haughey Looks Sharp in Return to Long Course With Impressive Double

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Siobhan Haughey hasn’t swam long course since the Tokyo Olympics.

The two-time Olympic silver medalist wanted to get as much long-course racing in as she could at the TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale, entering in a plethora of events.

On Friday night, Haughey went back-to-back events, swimming the 200 freestyle and 50 butterfly at Ford Lauderdale Aquatic Center. She swam well and finished third in both events.

“I used to swim breaststroke when I was younger. The past year or so, I felt like I wanted to do some more breaststroke,” Siobhan Haughey said. “Since it is early on in the season, we try to swim different events. The 50 breast was one of them. I wanted to do the 100 breast, but I haven’t swam it in the past two years, so I didn’t have a time to enter in the actual race, so I had to time trial.

“It is nice doing off events, because the odds are you are going to go a best time, and that makes you feel good. It is really good to switch things up.”

Haughey finished third in the 200 freestyle in 1:55.53, then third in the 50 breaststroke (31.21), less than 10 minutes later. She broke the Hong Kong record in the 50 breast, but of course, just about every time Haughey gets a best time, it is a Hong Kong record.

“It wasn’t easy, but I am glad the 200 free was first and then the 50. The other way around would be really painful,” Haughey said. “That race, I was really focusing on my race. There were a few things we have worked on the past few weeks and I tried to work on those during the race. I think my time was around what I expected at this point of the season, and I am pretty happy with it. I feel like I am at a pretty good place.

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

“I am not really expecting much from this meet. It is more to see where I am at and to practice swimming a lot of events in the same session because I have Worlds and Asian Games coming up and mostly likely I will have all of these relays and individual events, so I want to see what it is like to do multiple events and see how I can recover.”

Haughey also has been traveling a lot – and will continue to – which also affects her recovery. But it has its advantages as well.

“After Short-Course Worlds, I went home to Hong Kong for a bit, then we flew to Israel to train there for six weeks. Then I flew straight here from Israel,” Siobhan Haughey said. “After this, I get to go home again for a bit, then back to the U.S. for an altitude camp before the Hong Kong Trials in April. It is nice going to different places because you can switch up your training environment. You are not always feeling stuck in one ”

Going some best times and feeling pretty sharp in the water in her first long-course meet, Haughey could be poised for another stellar summer.

“Hopefully I can swim best times. I haven’t done a lot of long course international racing since Tokyo. This was my first one. It takes a while to get back into groove of things. I have a lot of meets coming up before Worlds. Every meet there are things I can work on,” Siobhan Haughey said. “I am not trying to limit myself.”

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