Hong Kong swimmer Siobhan Haughey continued her excellent form with a first and a second place at a World Cup meet in Athens on Sunday.
Haughey was timed at 30.36 seconds in the 50m breaststroke final, equalling her own Hong Kong record, set three weeks ago at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte was 0.13 seconds quicker to take victory, while Sophie Hansson of Sweden was third, 0.32 behind Haughey.
The Hongkonger was in action again just 13 minutes later in the 100m free final, but her supremacy was never in doubt as she reached the 50-metre mark first in 25.24 before pulling away to win by a distance in 52.55.
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom finished second in 53.32, with Bronte Campbell of Australia third, another 0.28 behind.
“Honestly, my legs are not feeling very good right now,” Haughey said. “I treat these races just like training, and I just have to keep going and see what I can do.
“My first event was only a 50 breaststroke, which we sometimes swim at race pace in practice, so that wasn’t too hard or tiring for me.”
The meet kept Haughey on a roll after she amassed two golds, one silver and three bronzes in Hangzhou.
After dominating them in Berlin and Athens, Haughey is expected to appear again in the 100 and 200m freestyle at the third and final World Cup meet in Budapest, which begins on Friday.
Having swum the 400m freestyle in Berlin but then dropped it in favour of the 50m breaststroke in Athens, Haughey could vary her choice of disciplines again in Hungary.
“I like switching things up just a little bit so I am not so focused on the same events,” she said.
In the 100m butterfly, China’s Zhang Yufei swam 56.06 to break the World Cup best previously held by Sjostrom.
The Swede – still the world record-holder with her 2016 mark of 55.48 – finished a gaping 0.86 behind in second, with Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil only good enough for fourth in a strong field.
Asian Games: Singapore’s loss is Hong Kong’s bronze medal gain in swimming final
Asian Games: Singapore’s loss is Hong Kong’s bronze medal gain in swimming final
Zhang’s time was faster than when she took gold at July’s World Championships in Fukuoka, but 0.2 slower than her winning time at the Asian Games.
“I was really nervous,” Zhang said. “I don’t know how they [her rivals] do it. I am very pleased with the World Cup record.”
In the men’s races, Qin Haiyang of China completed a sweep of victories in the 50, 100 and 200m butterfly, just as he had done in Berlin.
