Qin Haiyang and Siobhan Haughey Claim Second Victories at Chinese National Games
Make it a breaststroke double for Qin Haiyang at the Chinese National Games, which wrapped up their sixth night of action on Saturday night. Coming off an earlier victory in the 100-meter breaststroke, the reigning world champion captured the gold medal in the 200 breaststroke in his latest outing. Qin produced a time of 2:07.69 to register a convincing triumph over Dong Zhihao (2:08.99).
Last summer in Singapore, Qin earned his second world title in the 200 breaststroke, thanks to a performance of 2:07.41. He was not far off that effort at the National Games, highly valued by Chinese athletes and typically generate impressive results. Qin is the world-record holder in the 200 breaststroke, off a 2:05.48 mark en route to the gold medal at the 2023 edition of the World Champs.
Qin wasn’t the only athlete who picked up a second victory of the meet, as Xu Jiayu and Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey got to the wall first in their events. After winning the 100 backstroke with a 52-low marker, Xu prevailed at double the distance, taking the 200 backstroke in 1:56.63. That time handed Xu a decisive margin over runnerup Tao Guannan, who recorded a swim of 1:58.79.
As for Haughey, she followed up her impressive victory in the 200 freestyle with a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle. The four-time Olympic medalist was the only athlete to break the 53-second barrier, going 52.89 to defeat Yang Junxuan (53.55) and Cheng Yujie (53.65). The time moved Haughey to No. 7 for the year, a positive development for the veteran, who was forced out of the World Championships due to a back injury.
The other final of the night saw Lyu Qinyao top the field in the women’s 200 breaststroke, with her 2:23.63 nearly a second faster than the 2:24.60 of Tang Qianting.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of semifinal action on Saturday night, as Xu Fang led the way into the final of the men’s 100 butterfly with a time of 51.38. Liu Yaxin (2:09.28) was fastest in the women’s 200 backstroke and Chen Hao (22.14) will be in Lane Four for the final of the men’s 50 freestyle. Yu Yiting (25.71) and Zhang Yufei (25.79) qualified first and second for the final of the women’s 50 butterfly.
