Budapest 2024, Day 6 Finals: Siobhan Haughey Three-Peats in 200 Freestyle; AR for Harvey and WJR for Weinstein
As Siobhan Haughey stood on the blocks ahead of the 200-meter freestyle final at the World Short Course Championships, there were questions whether the Hong Kong star could hold onto her title in the event. After all, American Claire Weinstein popped a 1:50 split during the 800 freestyle relay. But when the 200 freestyle concluded at Duna Arena on Sunday night, there was Haughey as the event’s champion.
The world titlist in 2021 and 2022, Haughey made it a three-peat behind an attack-from-the-start approach. Haughey pressed the pace from the get-go, a strategy that resulted in a wire-to-wire triumph. A four-time Olympic medalist, Haughey registered a winning mark of 1:50.62, the third-fastest time in history and not far off her world record of 1:50.31. The performance was enough to fend off Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey, who was the silver medalist in an American-record time of 1:51.49. Weinstein earned the bronze medal in 1:51.62, which was good for a world junior record.
“I think each time is very different,” Haughey said of her three world titles. “My first one in Abu Dhabi, I had never won a world title before, so I was really hungry for that, and I knew what I was capable of doing. And in Melbourne, I think because I was the world-record holder, I wanted to be even better than that. I kind of had extra pressure on me, and I ended up actually going a slower time.
“So this time, I really just wanted to focus on the race itself. I don’t like it, how they put the 200 free at the end, but at the same time, I think it helped because I was so eager, I was so looking forward to doing it. This morning when I woke up, I was like, ‘I finally get to race it.’ I was excited for it, and I think having that excitement definitely helped.”
Whether in the long-course pool or in short-course action, Haughey has established herself as a consistent factor in international competition. Earlier this year, she was the bronze medalist in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle at the Olympic Games, and prior to that, she captured 200 free gold and 100 free silver at the February long course World Championships in Doha. She obviously transitioned well to the smaller pool, as her victory tied up another sensational year for the University of Michigan product.
“It’s been a very long season,” Haughey said. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come here because it’s been such a long season and my body is very tired. But eventually, I decided to come here, and I think I’ve achieved a lot this year, a lot of great things, a lot of learning opportunities, but the biggest thing is I really enjoyed everything I did.”
Seeking to take command from the start, Haughey went through the opening 50 meters in 25.80 to build a quarter-second edge on Weinstein. That earlier momentum carried forth, as Haughey split 53.64 at the midway point. While Harvey had slightly quicker splits that Haughey during the latter stages of the race, the early margin the Hong Kong star managed proved to be a difference.
