JUST 0.16 of a second separated gold and silver.
That’s how tight the finish was for Brisbane’s former Catholic schoolboy Jack McLoughlin, pipped at the post in the Olympic Men’s 400 metres freestyle.
An 18-year-old Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui from lane eight came home to win gold upstaging Aussie pair McLoughlin and Elijah Winnington.
But McLoughlin showed no sign of defeat. Far from it – he was elated.
He finished four tenths clear of bronze medallist Kieran Smith.
It was at St Agatha’s Primary School in Clayfield that McLoughlin was first encouraged to give swimming a go and he has not looked back.
“Second Olympics, it’s pretty good,” the 26-year-old said after winning a silver medal.
He still has the 800m and 1500m freestyle events to add to his Toyko medal tally.
McLoughlin said he had no idea that Hafnaoui had performed so strongly out of lane eight, with no line of sight from lane two.
“Hell no. I’m pretty much blind. I normally wear glasses,” he told Channel 7.
“I put my head down the last 100 metres and kind of just heard a bit.”
McLoughlin might be without his family in Tokyo, but he had his whole family, friends and supporters cheering loudly in Brisbane.
“You know, they are the world to me. Everyone says swimming is an individual sport but it is not,” he said.
“I like to think of it as – I’m the F1 car and I pilot it with this thing and that thing, but they are my pit crew. They are doing everything to help me out.
“It just means the absolute world to me to have them by my side. My parents, my family, my beautiful girlfriend and all her family. There are so many people there.
“It is not just one person here, it is the whole place. They mean the world. I say a huge thank you to everyone who got me here.”
McLoughlin’s girlfriend Emily wrote on Instagram: “So bloody proud of you.”
St Agatha’s also chipped in on Facebook: “What a race! So incredibly close. Brilliant effort and congratulations on your Olympic silver medal Jack.”
“What a wonderful post race interview. We are sure your ‘pit crew’ are incredibly proud of you, as we all are,” his primary school posted.
In 2018 McLoughlin visited St Agatha’s and caught up with his Year 5 and 7 teacher, Mrs Read, who first encouraged him to give swimming a go.
