On Sunday afternoon, Torri Huske won gold in the women's 100m butterfly. It's Huske's second gold of the Paris Olympics after she placed first with three of her Team USA compatriots in the women's 4x100m relay on Saturday. It was also a bit of an upset.
Huske was trailing for most of the race but closed the gap on her Team USA teammate, Gretchen Walsh, in the final seconds. Walsh is not only decorated on her own but is one day removed from setting an Olympic record in the 100m butterfly semifinals, posting a 55.38 time to break Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom's record from 2016. After she got off to a quick lead in the pool on Sunday it seemed inevitable she'd follow up her record with a gold.
But Huske had something to say about that. She barely beat out Walsh for gold, finishing 0.04 seconds ahead of her, and gave an emotional quote afterwards that really could be used to sum up most athletes' feelings after winning in the Olympics.
"I feel like I'm in shock right now," Huske said after the race. "Like, I don't even know how to process it. Like, I feel like I am going to cry, but I'm also smiling."
That's one way to earn your first personal gold medal.
It's a storybook moment for Huske, who attended the Tokyo Games but missed out on medaling by 0.01 seconds. Now her first gold comes in the form of an upset over an Olympic record holder who is also her teammate.
And then, to top it all off, Huske invited Walsh onto her podium afterwards before the U.S. national anthem played.
Torri Huske invites silver medalist Gretchen Walsh up onto the gold medal podium ahead of the national anthem. You love to see it pic.twitter.com/jo9EPGQYlk
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) July 28, 2024
Sports can be beautiful. What a moment for Huske.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Swimmer Torri Huske Gave Emotional Quote After Edging Out Gretchen Walsh for Gold .
