I couldn't believe I'd missed out on an Olympic medal by 0.01 seconds.
An Olympic gold medal by 0.04 seconds? Unbelievable.
“I didn't know how to take it,” said Husk, 21, of Arlington, Virginia. “I've dreamed of this moment for so long, and it's just so overwhelming.”
Huske beat U.S. teammate and world record holder Gretchen Walsh by the wall in a memorable poolside night filled with pageantry, fireworks and tears of joy. The entire French crowd seemed to fill the arena for the 400m individual medley, with Leon Marchand competing in his first Olympic final. The swim meet turned into a raucous patriotic party when he won gold in 4:02.95, nearly six seconds faster than Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita (4:08.62) and bronze medalist Carson Foster of the U.S. (4:08.66).
There was no shortage of highlights. American swimmers won four medals, while arch rival Australia failed to reach the podium. Nick Fink, a 31-year-old engineer from New Jersey, won silver in the men's 100-meter breaststroke. He tied two-time Olympic gold medalist Adam Peaty of Great Britain with a time of 59.05 seconds, just 0.02 seconds behind Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi.
The raucous crowd was still celebrating Marchand's performance when Husk and Walsh took to the starting block. Fans were hoping for a world record, not that Husk would steal the show.
Walsh, 21, a star athlete at the University of Virginia, had the slowest reaction time at the start, but that didn't matter: On a night when she set an Olympic record in the semifinals, Walsh shot out of the water and sprinted across the pool, taking the lead on the turn and covering the first 50 meters in just 25.40 seconds.
Husk was in third place, but Walsh was in total control. It wasn't until the last 10 or 15 meters that Husk looked like he was catching up with the world record holder. The gap closed with every stroke, and when Husk touched the wall and saw the red light come on in his lane a nanosecond before the others, it was as if time had stopped completely.
“I felt like I was hyperventilating a little bit,” Husk said. “It felt like my body was reacting. I had no control over what was happening to my body. It was all happening so fast.”
It was a completely different race from the Olympic race three years ago. In Tokyo, Husku was in second place coming around a turn, then a sprint past him into the wall and the winner was impossible to discern with the naked eye. He finished fourth, 0.01 seconds off the podium.
She was disappointed because she was so close. But she So close.
“The goal remains the same,” Stanford coach Greg Meehan said. “… We were one-tenth of a medal away. [0.14] “Even missing out on the gold medal never dampened her motivation. It was easy for her to bounce back quickly.”
“It was a shock, to be honest with you,” Husk said Sunday night, “but I think it really propelled me. I think it made me better.”
The struggles were also lessons. A year later, at the world championships in Budapest, she had a breakthrough, winning the 100m butterfly and winning five other medals. But at last year's world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, she slowed down, finishing third in the 100m butterfly. She took a break from school to focus on preparing for the Paris Games.
As a result, she arrived here a better athlete, a smarter swimmer and with a new perspective on what it takes to get to the wall first.
“I don't know why, but I think I was a little naive in my last Games,” she said. “I was like, 'I'm representing the U.S., and representing the U.S. always wins medals, we always win medals, we're just gonna reach for the wall and get on the podium.' But it's actually a lot harder than that.”
She worked on her race strategy with Meehan and knew she needed to finish stronger. Olympic champions have to put together the perfect race.
On Sunday night, she trailed the best, covering the final 50 meters in 29.98 seconds to win the gold medal in 55.59. Walsh, who was the favorite to win after her other-worldly performance at the U.S. Trials, covered the final half in 30.23 seconds to take the silver medal in 55.63.
“I was definitely nervous before,” Walsh said. “There was a lot of pressure just to set a world record. [last month]”I broke the Olympic record last night, and I just wanted to finish the race as best I could.”
Husk's tearful reaction in the pool thrilled the crowd and stunned his teammates.
“Tori never I never have “I get so emotional during races,” said breaststroke star Lilly King, who was preparing for her semifinal, “so I was just trying to calm myself down before the race.”
Walsh and Husk celebrated together. They were teammates on the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team that won silver on Saturday. With their new medals around their necks, they stood side by side on the top stage as the national anthem played. Tears again welled in Husk's eyes before the final glow of dusk.
She shared an emotional moment with Meehan afterward, then reunited with family and friends from Virginia, sharing tearful embraces with her mother, Ying, her father, Jim, classmates from Yorktown High School and family friends, all of whom had traveled to Paris and all knew her path to the podium had been a long and winding one.
“It's been a really tough journey,” she says, “but I had an amazing support system.”
