- Mollie O’Callaghan reflects tearfully on the Paris Games
- Swimmers feel they have let the country down
- The Dolphins had an outstanding Olympic campaign
Golden girl Mollie O’Callaghan has given an emotional interview following her success at the Paris Olympics, revealing her disappointment with some of her results.
The Australian swimming team won seven golds, eight silvers and three bronzes in the Paris swimming pool.
If measured in gold, it is the country’s third-best result in an Olympic pool, behind the nine golds in Tokyo three years ago and the eight golds at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Overall, the Dolphins’ 18 medals are also Australia’s third-best haul.
The country’s swimming team won 21 medals in total in Tokyo, 20 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also 18 at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Still, Mollie O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown feel they have let the country down.
O’Callaghan, 20, held back tears when asked if she was proud of her performance in Paris.
“Part of me does, and part of me doesn’t,” he said. News Corporation.
Mollie O’Callaghan gave an emotional interview about her performance at the Paris Games
Despite their success, Mollie O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown feel they could have done better in Paris
‘It’s all good, but I think it’s difficult because there are so many good things and so many bad things.
‘In the end, you just have to be positive because many people don’t get the chance to get on the podium.’
O’Callaghan was the country’s most successful swimmer in Paris, winning three golds, one silver and one bronze.
It’s clear that the pressure of being an Olympic swimmer in Australia is enormous.
“As much as you get hung up on ‘you want a gold medal and you got it,’ there are also personal standards that we know we could have pushed ourselves so much higher,” McKeown said.
O’Callaghan was the country’s most successful swimmer in Paris.
‘We’re just frustrated with ourselves for what could have happened, that’s the most important thing.
“We will always be our own harshest and most severe critics, whether it’s for reaching a final and not getting a medal or for getting a medal and not getting a fast time. It’s not about being greedy, it’s about knowing that we could have done so much more and that we’ve worked hard to deserve that spot.”