West Vancouver teenage swimming sensation Emily Overholt capped off her wild week at the Pan Am Games with a gold medal win in the women’s 400-metre freestyle final Friday in Toronto.
Overholt, racing out of lane eight after grabbing the final spot in the final during the qualification heats, clocked a Pan Am Games record time of 4:08.52, out-touching Venezuela’s Andreina Pinto by a quarter of a second. The win came less than 24 hours after Overholt was disqualified for a “non-simultaneous touch” in the 400-m individual medley race, a decision that cost her a gold medal and Pan Am Games record.
Friday’s win was sweet redemption for the 17-year-old who just last month graduated from Grade 12 at Collingwood School.
“Last night was heartbreaking, and I wanted to win so badly today to make up for it. I'm so happy right now," Overholt told CBC’s poolside reporter just moments after her gold-medal win. "I really tried to put (the disqualification) behind me and focus on today because I knew I had another chance at another medal. That was just the most important thing, that was all I could focus on."
Overholt shot into the lead at the start of Friday’s race and held on all they way, battling hard-charging Pinto over the final 50 metres.
"I knew I was on the outside and I wanted to be in the lead from the beginning so I could see everyone,” she said. “I really had nothing to lose so I just went for it and tried to hold on for as long as possible."
The win gave Overholt a complete set of medals at the games, including silver in the 200-m freestyle and bronze in the 4x200-m freestyle relay.
Overholt will look to continue her breakthrough season in her first appearance at the senior FINA World Championships running July 24-Aug. 9 in Kazan, Russia.
