Day 9 - McDermott Soars to Silver

Like many of her Australian teammates in Tokyo, Nicola McDermott has soared to new heights on the Olympic stage – claiming the silver medal in the women’s high jump with a new national and area record of 2.02m.

Nicola McDermott (Matt Horsnell) made history in April when becoming the first Australian woman to clear the 2.00m barrier, before raising that mark to 2.01m in Stockholm and now 2.02m in Tokyo to become only Australia’s second female Olympic medalist in the event after Michelle Brown in 1964.

The 24-year-old was valiant in challenging for the gold medal, registering a fantastic attempt at 2.04m in a bid to stay alive in the competition and scoring herself a 10/10 in her journal despite not making it over the bar.

“I felt the clearance in the air but just the lack of experience and the timing meant that it just didn’t happen today but to come second to a three-time world champion [Mariya Lasitskene], I can’t complain, I’m so thankful,” McDermott said.

McDermott says the major focus leading into the competition was on producing her absolute best.

“We knew that if I did a personal best that I would be up in the medals and that really kept me grounded, rather than trying to chase gold to just stick to the plan and jump as high as I can,” McDermott said.

“Even though I jumped 2.02m tonight I know that there are higher heights and if I am very strategic in the way that I write, I know that in my next competitions I will have that fresh on the paper and hopefully get the 2.04m or the 2.05m."

The Australian has not been an overnight sensation, with her hard work dating back over years of trial and error.

“My first world championships I came last. I didn’t clear a single bar. There’s always that thought that lurks in my head of could this be the time that I don’t clear the starting height, but I just have to remember I have a clean slate and I’m with God and carrying a message bigger than myself,” McDermott said.

“I’m not trying to put a cap on it anymore, the world record is 2.09m and I’m just going to keep on jumping and analysing it because I just see every single jump I do I’m not just carrying myself over the bar, I’m carrying the hopes of the nation.”

Eleanor Patteson (Alex Stewart) finished in fifth place of the competition with an equal season’s best of 1.96m after an interrupted lead up to the Games, improving on her Olympic debut in Rio where she failed to make the final.

“I’m quite disappointed in myself, I was hoping for a medal, but the intention was to jump 2.00m,” Patterson said.

The Leongatha product had the best seats in the house as her compatriot soared to Olympic glory, full of praise for domestic rival.

“I stayed out to watch Nicola. She’s Australian, we know each other quite well, I support her and I have great respect. It was phenomenal to see, I’m so happy for her,” Patterson said.

Oliver Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) finished in 11^th place of the race after clocking 3:35.79 at not only his first Olympic Games, but so too first Australian team at any level.

“To have the opportunity to represent my country at this level, in this sport, is a privilege. The emotional and mental build up was something that I’m not used to and I need to work on that,” Hoare said.

“The more international fields I can muster, the better I’ll be for it. This is my first time representing my country at any level, so it’s an important thing to take in and learn from. I’m looking forward to improving on this performance.”

The following article is adapted from Lachlan Moorehouse & Athletics Australia's "McDermott Soars to Silver | Day Nine Review"
For the full article, see the AA article here