Swimming Chief Lament's Haughey's Double Bronze

Haughey with her two bronze medals in Paris

Athletes train for years, practically everyday, waking up early and working out for hours, pushing their bodies to physical exhaustion, honing their techniques and skills in the hopes of making the Olympics.

Once they qualify for the international sporting event -- which is only held once every four years -- then they are eligible to compete against the best in the world. When they get to the starting blocks or onto the mat, the court, the pitch, the track, that's the moment they have to give it their all.

It's not easy.

Freestyle is Haughey's strongest swimming stroke

Swimmer Siobhan Haughey won two silvers in 100m and 200m freestyle the Tokyo Olympics, and she considered retiring from the sport, thinking she had peaked.

It wasn't until a year after Tokyo did Haughey consider Paris 2024.

"Once you meet a certain elite level, it's even harder to keep improving and to keep getting better," she said before the Paris Games.

In the end she won two bronze medals for the same races which was still a fantastic result, bringing Hong Kong into the spotlight.

However, the chairman of the Hong Kong China Swimming Association Ronnie Wong Man-chiu said he was "regretful" that Haughey only got bronze.

Speaking on the radio, Wong said: "I am happy we finished third, but of course I have regrets. It is a bit regretful she only ended up with bronze."

She told her coach, Tom Rushton about his comment, to which Rushton said it was "not good". 

She almost retired after the Tokyo Olympics

He was "supper happy" with Haughey's swim, and as for Wong said: "It is a bit disappointing, and an inexperienced quote.

"Siobhan is the first woman to medal twice in both the 100m and 200m freestyle. If it was easy, everybody would have those results. I am very proud of Siobhan, I know how much work she has done, and how much work myself and the support team have put in. But if it's so easy, great, I guess [Hong Kong] will have many more medals to come, and I look forward to those from the association."

Diplomatic, but Wong seems to have no idea how difficult it is to make it to the podium. 

Many online commenters have asked if Wong even knows how to swim. 

How much longer will he be chairman of the swimming association?