Hong Kong's Haughey wins first world swim gold

Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong won the first long-course world title of her career by taking gold in the women's 200m freestyle on Wednesday.

Haughey, the Olympic silver medallist at both the 100m and 200m free in Tokyo, also gave Hong Kong the first world gold in its history.

She touched first in 1min 54.89sec, ahead of New Zealand's Erika Fairweather and Brianna Throssell of Australia.

🇭🇰Siobhan Haughey dominates the pool, claiming victory in the Women's 200m Free with a stellar time of 1:54.89! 🏊‍♀️🥇 #AQUADoha2024 pic.twitter.com/Z9T8y4GawS

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) February 14, 2024

Haughey, 26, who has won three short-course world golds in her career, grabbed her chance with the three medallists from the Fukuoka world championships last year missing from the line-up in Doha.

"It means so much to me, especially since in the past few times I just missed out on the podium. So it is really special," she said.

"I hoped the time would be a little better but I think there is a lot to learn from this race."

There was also a first world title in the pool for Ireland, thanks to Daniel Wiffen's win in the men's 800m freestyle, in a time of 7:40.94.