American Nevin Harrison ended up on the wrong end of the closest 200-meter canoe sprint in Olympic history.
Finishing in 44.13 seconds, she smashed the previous world record of 44.5, but finished a hair’s width behind Canada’s Kate Vincent, who had a 44.12, to take silver in a photo finish.
“Going, I think I heard 44.1 is unbelievable and unheard of, and I knew I could go that fast and I’m sure she did, too,” Harrison said, per USA Today. “So finally putting those times down and breaking that world record that happened so long ago, definitely I’m sure felt good for her and I’m incredibly happy for her. That’s got to be the best accomplishment ever.
“But I’m also proud of myself. I put that time down, too, and hers might have been a hundredth of a second faster, but it’s still a world record in my heart.”
Harrison was competing in her second Olympics and had won gold in the 200-meter canoe sprint in Tokyo.
Despite the worse result, though, she said Paris was better.
“I think this one was even more special because I got to go hug my family right after,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade that for the world. So I definitely got yelled at by security just now cause I went through the gate, but giving my mom, my dad, my boyfriend, all them hugs was so worth it. I think I would take this Olympics a million times over the last one because I was able to share it with the people I love.”
Harrison’s silver is the only U.S. medal in canoe sprint so far.
Evy Leibfarth won the only American medal in canoe slalom by taking bronze in singles.
Harrison was battling through injuries, having torn ligaments in her neck last week badly enough to leave her in tears after a practice run on Tuesday.
She wore a lidocaine patch on her neck Saturday to numb the pain.
She admitted to being “a little disappointed” to finish second, but ultimately put a happy spin on things.
“It is less than a blink of an eye for sure, but that’s what racing sports are,” she said. “That’s what sprints are. It’s always going to be by measures that you can’t even see. And is it fair? Not always, but it is what it is. And I think ultimately we can’t really fault ourselves for that. We all went out there and gave it one hell of a go, and I’m proud of everyone that lined up.”