Emma Harvey wins B Final at Pan American Games
Just an hour and a half after Conor White’s amazing bronze medal, the Bermuda flag was displayed proudly atop the scoreboard in the Pan American games pool after Emma Harvey produced a stunning swim to win the 100 metres butterfly B Final.
Harvey was sixth with a length of the 50-metre pool to swim but produced a power-packed finish to pass every one of her rivals and stun the watching crowd, but the young swimmer was unaware of her achievement.
“I was just talking to my friends and they told me that I was really far behind after the first 50 metres, and I said ‘Oh, I thought I was in second.’” Harvey said.
“In the last 25 I told myself that I had to put my head down and just go as hard as I could.”
Despite her pleasure in finishing first in a race on the big stage, the effort is tinged with disappointment as Harvey realised she was so close to making a major final.
“I think this counts as a really good learning experience because when you come to these Games you just have to swim fast in the heats in the morning and that is a skill in itself,” Harvey said.
“I’m disappointed I’m not in the A final but it but it’s good in a way as it reminds me of the skills I need to work on when I get to these bigger meets. I’ll take that forward with me.
“In the B final I was just 0.07 off my best time but I’ve done that three or four times now. When you consistently hit a certain time that’s when you’re ready for a pretty big drop so it gives me a lot of confidence that I’m on the right track. The future is bright so I’m really excited.”
It must have been a tense night for Harvey’s parents as Emma’s brother Jack also made it to a B final in the 200 metres backstroke. He swam well to finish fourth but feels there is more to come
“It was half a second quicker than the heats this morning so it was a pretty good swim,” Jack Harvey said.
“I just have to keep working to improve and hopefully the times will get faster. I can take some positives but I’ve just got to race other people. I let the guy next to me get a little too far ahead of me and I couldn’t quite catch back up with him.
The third member of the team in action on Sunday was Sam Williamson and he cut a much happier figure after producing a better performance than he did the previous day when seventh in his heat in the 200 metres freestyle.
“That was much more like it and only 0.60sec off my PB,” he said.
“My three best events are still to come. I’m much more relaxed now and know what to expect.”
With two days of competition gone Bermuda coach Shona Palmer is pleased with how the squad is performing.
“I was super proud of Emma but actually proud of all of them today,” Palmer said.
“Sam had a much better race, was less nervous and produced a much better swim. Jack and Emma did good morning swims and came back and did even better in the finals.”
The swimmers are all in action on Monday with Emma and Jack Harvey both competing in the 100 metres backstroke, Sam Williamson going in the 200 metres backstroke and Madelyn Moore heading into action for the first time in the 100 metres freestyle.
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