The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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final, and if you have that, on any given day, you can get on the po- dium. As long as she continues to take it one day at a time and make improvements in technique and training, there's no limit for her." Bottom pointed out that Michigan has been good for Haughey, in terms of offering assistance to the extremely receptive freshman competitor. "When Siobhan first got to Michi- gan, we knew she didn't come from an extensive-training background," Bottom said. "We put her in a higher- level training program. In the midst of that, we began to realize that she could make incredible changes to her stroke while training, which is very unique for people in the program, es- pecially for those, like Siobhan, who come from a lower-meterage program. "She makes great changes and trains at a high level at the same time." "They have helped me a lot," Haughey said of Michigan's coaches. "They know I am a good swimmer, but there are a lot of things I can im- prove. This year, we were working a lot on details — the starts, the turns. That wasn't something I paid a lot of attention to before. "When they see you have some- thing you can improve on, they tell you, and they spend extra time with you, working on it. For instance, my starts aren't that good. I tried to work on it. Sometimes after practice, Mike would stay behind, and other coaches would, giving me one-on-one ses- sions working on my starts. It was really helpful." The assistance paid off, with Haughey peaking in Big Ten and NCAA competition. She cites the highlight of the conference cham- pionship, demonstrating her quick assimilation into the culture around Canham Natatorium. "That was the first time we've won the Big Ten in 12 years," Haughey said. "It was a very special moment for the whole team. Throughout the year, we've been working really hard on it. "The moment we knew we won Big Tens and we dove off into the diving pool with our trophy, seeing the crowd cheering for us, singing 'The Victors' … it was very, very special." Haughey speaks Cantonese and Eng- lish at home, growing up with an Irish father and Chinese mother in Hong Kong. She came to the U.S. late last August, and acknowledges some cul- ture shock after arriving without even a previous visit. But she's getting more and more accustomed to Michigan. "When I go to the airport and I'm wearing my Michigan gear, people say 'Go Blue' and I say 'Go Blue' back to them," she said. "I just love everything about it — the academic side and the training side. When I was struggling with anything, my teammates and coaches were always there. I just love it." Next stop: Rio. "I'm very excited," she said. "At first, I was more nervous. Now I know how my training is coming together. I'm very excited to see how I can do." If it's anything like she's done so far, she'll be okay. She made an immedi- ate difference in Michigan's program. With continued honing of her skills, she should only get better, in Rio and beyond. ❏