Haughey defends 200m freestyle title as Hong Kong swimmers shine in Nagoya

Hong Kong’s star swimmer Siobhan Haughey has successfully defended her women’s 200-meter freestyle title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, securing the city’s second gold medal of the competition. 

Haughey, who holds both the Asian and Asian Games records for the event, delivered a commanding wire-to-wire performance in the final. 

Surging ahead in the opening 50 meters, she turned 0.84 seconds clear of her closest challenger, Li Jiaping of the national team. 

Haughey continued to widen the gap, leading by more than a full body length in the final 50 meters to touch the wall first in 1:54.96—finishing over a second ahead of silver-medalist Li. 

Reflecting on her performance in a post-race television interview, Haughey expressed satisfaction with her effort, stating that while the time was not as fast as she had hoped, she gave it her all and was pleased with the result. 

Fellow Hong Kong swimmer Gilaine Ma also competed in the final, finishing fifth with a time of 1:59.75.

Silver for Ian Ho in 50-meter freestyle

On the men’s side, Ian Ho captured a silver medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, marking the swimming team's second medal of this year's Games. 

Having qualified for the final in fourth place, Ho overcame a modest reaction time off the blocks to quickly haul himself back into contention. 

He powered down the stretch to cross the line in 21.76 seconds—just 0.1 seconds behind South Korea’s Kim Young-beom, who set a new Asian Games record of 21.66 to claim gold. 

The podium finish replicates Ho’s silver-medal performance in the same event at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The medal-winning performances will see Hong Kong's athletes heavily rewarded through the newly revised Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme (JCAIAS). 

Partnering with the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the scheme aims to encourage athletic excellence and support local elite sports across seven major upcoming sporting events, starting with the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. 

Under the JCAIAS framework, individual gold medalists receive a cash award of HK$1 million, earning Haughey a seven-figure payout for her victory. As individual silver medalists, Ho will be awarded HK$500,000. 

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓