(Reuters) -Harrison Turner had to pinch himself to believe he won bronze in the 200 metres butterfly at the world championships in Singapore on Wednesday, the euphoric Australian yelling “Dirty gold! Let’s go!” into the cameras after his surprise podium swim.
Turner, who finished behind American Luca Urlando and Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski, became Australia’s first medallist in the event at the world championships and his time of one minute and 54.17 seconds was a national record.
“I’m lost for words. Being in lane eight, I just snuck in and I thought, I’ve got a lane, I’ve got a chance. Yeah, I never would have imagined to sneak in a bronze there,” Turner said.
“It’s unbelievably special for me. I still can’t believe it. When I didn’t see really anyone to the side, I was like ‘jeez, I might actually have a chance here’ and then I saw the boys coming at the last 50 meters, I just dug as hard as I could.
“I can’t believe it … Yeah, Dirty gold! Let’s go!”
Turner was first called up to the Australian squad after Kaylee McKeown opted out of the short course world championships in December and the 21-year-old has made steady progress ever since.
He made a splash with a swim of 1:54.90 at the Australian trials in Adelaide last month and his time at the Singapore Sports Hub bettered the country’s previous mark of 1:54.46 set by Nick D’Arcy in 2009.
“It’s just that fire that burns deep within your heart,” Turner added.
“It’s why you rock up, do the early mornings, late nights, you’re feeling sore, you’re feeling shattered through the week and you pick yourself up because you know you’ve got a job to do. I’m just so stoked to be here representing Australia.
“I love it so much. It’s an honour to represent the green and gold.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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