‘Proud I fought’: Watson looks back on overcoming adversity in Tokyo

Watson is back in her home of Tuscon, Arizona after representing Canada at her second Olympic Games which came with its fair share of ups and downs.

Before the Olympics in June, Watson suffered a back injury during training that carried over to Tokyo. She suffered a handful of disappointing finishes at meets before the Games, but was determined to still represent Canada.

“It’s extremely difficult when there’s anything that hinders your training or preparation,” said Watson. “I don’t want to say it necessarily held me back, but it definitely wasn’t ideal going into the Games. I’m really proud of how I continued to fight, push and get ready for the Games.”

Watson was able to qualify for the women’s 400 metre hurdles semi-finals with a time of 55.54 and was looking to punch her ticket to her first Olympic finals in her specialty event.

However, Watson finished fifth in her semi-final heat crossing the finish line at 55.51 and was unable to crack the final eight racers.

“I really felt like I fell short in the semi-final in my 400 [metre] hurdles,” said Watson. “But, of course I didn’t have time to focus on that because we had to get ready for the relay.”

Thanks to some quick running by Watson, Team Canada’s women’s 4×400 metre relay team was able to sneak into the finals at 3:24.05.

Even though they were one of the final teams to qualify, Canada came out of the gates flying and set up Watson on the anchor leg in the bronze medal position.

A spot on the podium wasn’t meant to be however, as Watson was passed by Jamaica’s Candice McLeod over the final 100 metres and finished fourth by six-tenths of a second.

It was a heartbreaking result for the Canadian foursome who also finished just off the podium in 2016, however took solace in the fact that they almost equalled a national record.

“We did come up short getting fourth and we really wanted to get a medal,” said Watson. “But, we ran so close to the Canadian record and our time honestly would have medalled at any other Olympic Games. So, I was just really proud of our women, how we competed and how we represented Canada.”

Even though Watson and her 4×400 metre relay team weren’t able to capture a medal, it was still a banner games for Team Canada and its athletics program.

Canadian track and field athletes hauled in six of our country’s 24 medals, including gold medals by sprinter Andre de Grasse and decathlete Damian Warner.

“It’s really exciting to be part of a team that’s successful because it makes you want to step up your game,” said Watson. “I think that positivity and that winning spirit is definitely going to carry us into these next World Championships and the Olympics in 2024.”

Now that this extended Olympic cycle has wrapped for Watson, her focus now shifts to Paris 2024 and two World Championships over the next few years.

The bar for the women’s 400 metre hurdles has been raised exponentially after these Olympics though, as the United States’ Sydney McLaughlin smashed her own world record to capture gold with a blazing 51.46.

“It’s really exciting to be part of a team that’s successful because it makes you want to step up your game,” said Watson. “I think that positivity and that winning spirit is definitely going to carry us into these next World Championships and the Olympics in 2024.”

That new world record is almost a full three seconds faster than Watson’s personal best and it looks like it will take a sub-52 second time to reach the podium in Paris.

“I definitely have to ramp some things up and do some re-evaluation to look at how I’m going to get there,” said Watson. “When people are doing well in your event I don’t see that as a negative, I see that as a positive and that’s just going to make me step up my game that much more.”

There were many differences between Rio and Tokyo for Watson due to the pandemic, with the most noticeable being the lack of fans able to watch the world’s greatest sporting spectacle.

Missing her family was the toughest hurdle for Watson to overcome in this Olympic cycle, but was the recipient of hundreds of texts, calls, videos and well wishes from southern Alberta.

“I had so many people reach out to me,” said Watson. “My family, they had a little watch party for me so it was amazing and I truly felt the support. Obviously, I wish I could have felt the support right there in Tokyo, but I did feel the support even though it was from far away.”

Having to wait only three years for Paris is something that the 27-year-old is excited for and is eager to take her experiences learned from Tokyo into her next Olympic Games.

“I didn’t quite reach my goals but I’m still proud that I fought and still got the opportunity to compete,” said Watson.

by Scott Roblin

‘Proud I fought’: Watson looks back on overcoming adversity in Tokyo

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