Abbie Wood gutted as personal best not enough for an individual medley medal
Just shy of another bronze for Team GB
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Your support makes all the difference.Abbie Wood admitted it was “gutting” to agonisingly miss out on an Olympic medal in the women’s 200 metres individual medley final but she took solace from setting a new personal best in the discipline.
Wood was viewed as a contender to continue Team GB’s medal rush in the pool at Tokyo 2020 after qualifying second fastest in the semi-finals, but her time of two minutes and 9.15 seconds was only good enough for fourth.
The 22-year-old came into the last 50m in third before finishing just 11 hundredths of a second behind bronze medallist Kate Douglass, whose American compatriot Alex Walsh collected silver as Japan’s Yui Ohashi took gold.
“It’s just gutting,” Wood said. “It was such a close race and I knew it was going to be that way. It was who got to the wall first. It is bittersweet. I am happy with the time. I knew I couldn’t have done much more.
“If it was off my PB and I came fourth it would have been a lot worse. I did put myself out there and I’m glad I did. I felt I paced it just how I wanted to. It’s just sport I suppose.”
Wood, who came close to walking away from swimming four years ago after a disappointing showing at the World Championship in Budapest now has her sights set on the women’s 200m breaststroke.
“I will put these frustrations into that and use this as a massive learning curve that the race isn’t over until it’s over,” she added.
“I was talked out of quitting in 2017 after my first worlds. I have really grown as a person since then. Just really grown up. You do have to remember moments like those to make these ones not feel as rough.”
Fellow Briton Alicia Wilson finished last in a time of 2mins 12.86secs.
James Wilby qualified second fastest for Thursday’s men’s 200m breaststroke final, recording a time of 2:07.91 in the semis, but Ross Murdoch will miss out after finishing joint fifth in his heat in 2:09.97.
Alys Thomas is into the women’s 200m butterfly final but Laura Stephens is out, while Jacob Whittle was unable to qualify for the men’s 100m freestyle final.
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