You’ll struggle to find an interview that’s as raw and honest as Australian snowboarding star Belle Brockhoff’s one after she finished fourth in the women’s snowboarding cross final.
It was all of the emotions pouring out at once: sadness, a little bit of frustration, but perhaps most of all, a sense of pride and accomplishment.
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Brockhoff reached the final in remarkable fashion, it must be said.
In her quarter-final, the 29-year-old was in last place for the vast majority of the race.
For fans watching across the nation and not knowing of Brockhoff’s talent, it looked like it would be another unfortunate ending for one of our nation’s athletes.
However, those fears were quickly erased when Brockhoff and her green jacket enjoyed a last minute burst towards the finish.
She snaked through the rest of the field to nab second place by an astonishing 0.01 seconds in a race that commentator David Culbert hailed as a “miracle”.
Was it all part of the game plan to sit back and wait for the perfect time to strike? You bet.
“I was just patient, I knew I could pass them,” Brockhoff told Channel 7.
“I just had to wait for the opportune moment.
“I know different areas have different drafts, when I saw this opportunity at the end, I just took it straight away and didn’t look back.”
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On to the semi-final, and it was certainly a different start for the Victorian.
She was in second place until about midway through the race, when she briefly collided with the race leader.
The leader took a tumble and never recovered, while Brockhoff somehow kept her feet and stayed in the race, albeit dropping a spot to third.
But she quickly recovered and regained second place and a birth in the final.
Unfortunately, the showpiece event didn’t quite go to plan.
A small mistake at the start cost her valuable time, and she was left trying to keep up the pace from the get-go in the final.
But to finish fourth in an Olympic event is no feat to scoff at.
Despite the achievement, Brockhoff was visibly upset in her post-race interview.
“I thought I’d be OK, I thought I wasn’t going to cry, but I’m definitely crying,” Brockhoff said.
“I had a really bad training day yesterday, I couldn’t get a lap down.
“Had a crash, hit my head. My knee’s been an issue these past few days.
“I had a s*** time trial, I was having a bit of a breakdown in front of my family.
“But there’s a lot of fight in me.
“I went from 18th to the big final and I just gave it my all, that’s all I wanted to do here and that’s what I feel like I’ve done.
“All I can say is ‘oh well’ rather than ‘what if’.”
As for what’s next?
Brockhoff is back in action for the mixed team snowboard cross event when she links up with Jarryd Hughes.
But right now, she’s got one thing to do.
“I’ve gotta cry like a little b***h right now and figure my s*** out.”