Article by Emma Greenwood, courtesy of The Australian.
It’s about half the time it takes the average person to blink their eyes.
Four hundredths of a second was all that separated Australia’s K4 crew from Olympic victory, their fate determined in agonising minutes after the race as officials studied a photo finish with Germany that determined the gold medallists.
None of the quartet had been able to judge the result from the boat.
So they sat, just metres away from their German rivals, waiting to learn their fate.
“It was crazy. We didn’t know whether to celebrate and I just told everyone, ‘just wait, just wait’,” said Jackson Collins, who followed in the footsteps of dad Dan Collins, who won silver in the K2 in Sydney, as well as bronze in Atlanta with Andrew Trim.
“We were waiting and looking at the (results) board, looking at the board and nothing was coming up.
“And then it came up and to say that you’re an Olympic medallist, it’s an incredible feeling.
“That initial feeling was a little bit … gutted, we were so close to gold. We knew that we could go out and really push for a win and to be so close, that initial feeling was a little bit of disappointment, but then it wears off pretty quick.”
Riley Fitzsimmons is at his third Olympics. In both Rio and Tokyo, he and crewmates were left shattered on the dock after the K4 final, wondering about what might have been.
So while he certainly would have loved a gold medal, there was only sheer joy and enormous satisfaction – even before the winner was determined – at knowing this crew had won a medal.
“For me it was pure elation,” Fitzsimmons said.
“This is my third Olympic Games and I’ve crossed that finish line in Olympic finals before and been really disappointed.
“So when I crossed and saw the three boats there, I knew we were guaranteed a medal and then it just became a waiting game waiting for those (results) to pop up on the board.
“To come away with a silver medal, I’m just so happy it doesn’t even feel real.”
While Collins replicated his dad’s efforts – although Dan quipped after the race his son would have to go around again to ensure the family had a full set of medals – Pierre van der Westhuyzen also got in on the family act, adding silver to the gold brother Jean won in the K2 in Tokyo.
“It’s something special for a family just to have an Olympian let alone an Olympic medallist,” van der Westhuyzen said.
“So to have a medal of my own, it’s not a gold medal, but it’s close enough.”
Jean van der Westhuyzen and Tom Green race the semis and final of the men’s K2 500m on Friday night, where they will start among the favourites for gold.
