Lessons from finishing fourth with Katinka Hosszu and Emma Twigg

What happens when you are expected to stand on the podium as an
Olympic medallist – but you finish fourth? Swimmer Katinka Hosszu
was favourite for gold in 2012. (Interview starts at 03:05) During
the race, she realised that she was in third position and the
person in first couldn’t be caught. She started to be mentally
distracted. The Hungarian finished the race and looked up at the
board to check her time. She had finished fourth and was
‘devastated’. Some were even advising her to walk away from the
sport entirely. Hosszu used this disappointment to become the ‘Iron
Lady’ who broke the world record for the 400m Individual Medley in
2016. Finishing fourth was a necessary step on her journey to
winning three Olympic gold medals (and also a silver!). That
redemption hasn’t happened for rower Emma Twigg (interview starts
at 12:04). Or at least not yet! She finished in fourth place in the
single sculls twice – in 2012 and 2016. In the boat after her
performance in Rio, she vowed to give up the sport. Now, she’s
making a run at Tokyo 2020 which would be her fourth Olympic
appearance. Yes, she has thought about finishing fourth in Tokyo.
And, although she’s aiming for the gold medal, now she’s at peace
with missing the podium and proud of what she has achieved. LINKS:
PODCAST: Ctrl Alt Delete
http://www.emmagannon.co.uk/category/podcast/ BOOK: Hosszu’s book
in Hungarian -
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11652298.Katinka_Hossz_