Siobhan Haughey’s wish? A top-class Hong Kong swimming arena so she can race for home fans
After opening of Kai Tak Sports Park, an international-standard swimming facility should be on agenda, four-time Olympic medallist says
Siobhan Haughey has said she hopes to see a top-level swimming arena built in Hong Kong before she eventually retires, because she still holds ambitions of competing in her hometown.
Asked what the city’s next major sporting development should be after last month’s opening of the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Sports Park, the four-time Olympic medallist proposed an elite aquatics facility, adding that she craved the chance to swim in one.
How many years Hong Kong has to make Haughey’s wish come true is still to be determined, with the 27-year-old taking a wait-and-see approach to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Last Saturday, she began her preparations for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July and August, returning from a three-month break with 100 metres breaststroke victory in Hong Kong’s Long Course Swimming Time Trial. It was held behind closed doors at Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI).
“I’m focusing on the Mare Nostrum [Swim Tour in May], the world championships and maybe the National Games [in November], then I’ll go from there,” Haughey told the Post.
“Three years is a very long time to plan. I don’t want to say I’m fully committed to Los Angeles yet. After this year, I will have a better sense of where I am, physically and mentally.”