In the Paris Olympics yesterday, David Popovici, Matthew Richards, and American Luke Hobson swam in the men’s 200-meter freestyle and learned just what the difference a one-hundredth of a second can be. It is natural to marvel at the tallest mountain and deepest canyon and push ourselves to see if we have what it takes to conquer the challenges they bring. In pushing their limpets, these three Olympians finished in the top three positions, with the time separating them from gold, silver, and bronze metals only by two-hundredth of a second and seven-hundredth of a second.
Athletes standing as close as their times
David swam, winning his first-ever Olympic gold medal for Romania by inching ahead of Richards by just two-hundredths of a second. Luke finished in third place, winning the bronze just behind Richards by seven-hundredths of a second. In a time that is faster than a blink of an eye, the top three world champions were divided and named.
Popovici made a statement to his competitors and the world when he swam four-tenths of a second faster than anyone else in the semifinal event. When it came to the final, though, both England’s Matthew and American Hobson wouldn’t go down without a fight. The 1:44.72 long race is one where every hundredth of a second counts. Lukas started strong and was out in front at the beginning of the race, with Matthew close behind.
Nearly missing out on the podium
There were a few seconds there when Popovici fell back to third and fourth place. Luke wasn’t even showing in the top four until the last thirty seconds of the race. In the last leg of the race, halfway to the finish, there were moments when each of them led the pack and appeared to have gold within their grasp.
It all came down to who would surge forward and touch the wall first. Not only did these three have one of the most amazing close times of this Olympics so far, but also Duncan Scott of England, who just missed out standing on the podium by eight-hundredths of a second behind Hobson.
Luke Hobson isn’t finished going for gold yet
Since Luke was eight years old he has been coached by Sharon Weiss. She adds some insight into what we might see from Hobson in the future and if his bronze-winning performance would be enough for him:
One of his gifts as an athlete is that he is great at keeping perspective. So, I know he will be happy, but he is also going to be hungry for more. He got the first bronze medal in all of swimming history from our area, so that is a really special thing.
Hobson still has another event coming where we will get to see his resolve as well as give him another chance to win another Olympic medal. He is competing in the 4-by-200 freestyle relay.
In a competition with the world’s best and the elites are going to be named, it often comes down to a hundredth of a second, but imagine the minutes, hours, days, months, and years of training, discipline, and commitment these individuals pledge to place where they do. With that in mind, none of them have lost but are placed according to their time and are rightly named Olympians.
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