Hong Kong’s “flying fish” Siobhan Haughey made a stunning debut at the National Games, winning the gold medal in the women’s 200-meter freestyle final on Thursday, marking the city’s first-ever swimming championship title at the national sports gathering.

The victory also marks the city’s third gold medal at this year’s meet, which is co-hosted by Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong province. The other two were won in sailing and road cycling, which are traditional strengths of Hong Kong.

The only Hong Kong athlete to win four Olympic medals, Haughey took an early lead and established a body-length advantage over her closest competitor at the halfway stage, and touched the wall in 1 minute and 54.85 seconds. She was followed by Hebei’s Li Bingjie and Zhejiang’s Liu Yaxin.

The Asian 200m record holder said she was satisfied with the result, adding that it “wasn’t easy” to win the medal.

After being sidelined for nearly four months because of a back injury, Haughey said her performance was a significant confidence boost. She described the past eight months as “challenging and difficult” and expressed gratitude for the support she received during her recovery.

This is her first time participating in the National Games. Haughey will compete in the 50m and 100m freestyle, and the 50m breaststroke, in the coming days.

After presenting the gold medal to Haughey, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said that this is the first gold medal Hong Kong swimmers have won since they started taking part in the National Games in 1997.

ALSO READ: Golden moment

“It was my first time watching a live swim race, and I was nervous throughout, but I was assured since Haughey led from the start. I hope that after winning gold in her signature event, she will continue to achieve good results in her other races,” Law said.

Haughey will also receive HK$750,000 ($96,520) under the Hong Kong Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme.

Another local swimmer, Adam Mak Sai-ting, finished fifth in the 50m breaststroke final, clocking 27.71 seconds. He said he hadn’t set himself a goal to avoid excessive pressure, as it wasn’t his main event, and that advancing to the finals had already exceeded his expectations.

The mixed 4x100m medley relay team, comprising Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet, Nicholas Cheung Chi-kit, Ralph Koo Yat-ho, and Li Sum-yiu, finished sixth, in a time of 3 minutes and 51.99 seconds.

Home events

The golf competition began on Thursday at Hong Kong’s Fanling Golf Course, where over 80 competitors faced challenging winds during the first round. In the team competition, Hong Kong’s men currently sit in seventh place, while the women are tied for fifth. Kho Taichi, a gold medalist in the individual men’s event at the 2022 Asian Games, said he was satisfied with his performance, as he avoids fixating on the medal race.

Kenneth Lam, vice-president of the Golf Association of Hong Kong, China, said that Hong Kong’s hosting of the golf events recognizes the association’s consistent efforts in bringing international events to the city.

READ MORE: Rugby Sevens: Thrilling games

Hong Kong’s men advanced to the final of the rugby sevens event with a 33-19 victory over Jiangsu in the semifinals on Thursday, following earlier wins over Shandong, Tianjin, and Inner Mongolia. The team faces Shandong in the championship decider at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium tonight.