Two Canadian rowers gave one of the most emotional speeches you’ll see at the Paris 2024 Olympics after a disappointing result.
Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson competed in the lightweight double sculls event and finished fifth in their semifinal today. The less-than-ideal result means they won’t even get a chance to race for a medal in the final.
Disappointment and emotion were evident on both rower’s faces as they gave a passionate interview.
“A lot of anger, I’m very angry,” stated a clearly emotional Casson to CBC after the race. “It’s the same feeling I had in Tokyo, so that’s pretty upsetting. There were a lot of people who went out of their way to support us here and we feel like we’ve let them down so it’s pretty hard.”
“For all of those of you who believed in us the whole time, thank you. It means more than that result. I’m having [a] hard time right now trying not to scream because we obviously wanted it more, not just [for] ourselves.”
“I’m having a hard time right now trying not to scream.”
An emotional moment for Canada’s Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson, who finished 5th in their lightweight double sculls semi@rowingcanada | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/dt5OJPi7G8
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) July 31, 2024
“I think this time was a lot different because we came in with the hope of chasing a medal,” added an emotional Moffatt. “I think it’s kind of tough, getting fourth last year was such a big result for us and so all year we trained with the belief that we could get on the podium.”
“To see it unfold in a pretty disastrous way, it feels a little bit like whiplash and like how Tokyo felt. So it’s been really tough.”
The fourth-place finish that Moffatt is referencing came at last year’s World Rowing Championships when the Canadian duo just missed out on the podium.
Aviron 🚣 : @jillmoffatt_ et @jjcasson123 🇨🇦 terminent au 5e rang de la demi-finale en deux de couple poids léger. Elles participeront à la finale B.#aviron #Paris2024 #rcsports #jeuxolympiques pic.twitter.com/mv7GjU3MLV
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) July 31, 2024
The two finished 12th overall in the same event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, also far from the result they were hoping for.