Siobhán Haughey

Siobhán Haughey built upon the life-changing success of 2021’s double silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games and 200m freestyle world record at the Fina World Swimming Championships with more competition wins, public honours and major brand endorsements. In October 2022, she was crowned overall winner at the first stop of the Fina Swimming World Cup in Berlin, with gold medals in each of the women’s 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle events, and won gold in the 100m and 200m Fina Swimming World Cup second leg in Toronto later that month.

In 2023, Haughey won two more golds at the Asian Games, one in the 200-metre freestyle category and another in the 100-metre freestyle category. She also added to her accolades by winning a bronze medal in the women’s 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics in July 2024, further cementing her status as one of Hong Kong's top athletes.

She has used her platform to speak about the mental toll taken not only by performing at a consistently high level in sport but being in the public eye, as well as her passion for encouraging young Hongkongers to invest themselves in sport. “I especially want kids to know that they can achieve anything, and just because no one has done it before, doesn’t mean they can’t do it; just because no one from Hong Kong had won an Olympic medal in swimming before, didn’t mean I couldn’t do it,” she said in an interview with Tatler.

The Haughey effect has been palpable in Hong Kong: local swimming clubs reported a surge in interest from young people inspired by the swimmer’s success. Haughey, however, remains down to earth, and maintains her reputation for being one of the friendliest, most cheerful and most gracious athletes in sport.