The Ripple Effect

For double Olympic medallist Siobhán Haughey, the best is yet to come

- Lauren James

As Siobhán Haughey walks out for the 200m freestyle final in Tokyo, the camera pans to a cluster of rippling red and white bauhinia flags. Though concealed by a mask, her delight is unmistakable as a small but raucous team of fellow Hong Kong swimmers and their coaches attempt to compensate for an Olympic Games without public spectators. Moments later, as the robotic "on your marks" sounds, she reaches down, adjusts her goggles, and stays steady as the women around her-world champions and previous Olympic medallists among them-twitch with adrenaline. Her body slices into the water and she starts strong, each stroke measured and confident in a sea of thrashing limbs. By the second 50m, she is in third place. At 45 seconds in, she is not only leading but swimming ahead of the world record pace. After the second wall kick, she is half a torso ahead of China's Yang Junxuan; by the third, commentators are already talking about history in the making. But less than ten metres from the final wall, Australia's Ariarne Titmus pulls ahead. Titmus wins, but Haughey is less than half a second behind, in a clear personal best time. She exits the pool, her hand covering her mouth in something between elation and disbelief, her life forever changed in 1:53.92.