This past Saturday, Seattle's own Nevin Harrison clinched a silver medal in the women's canoe sprint 200 meters at the Paris Olympics, narrowly missing gold by just one-hundredth of a second. The 22-year-old, who made history in Tokyo as the first American woman to win a canoe or kayak sprint title at the Olympics, delivered a time of 44.13, coming in a hair's breadth behind Canada's Katie Vincent who seized the gold with a time of 44.12, as reported by the KING 5 news release.

Harrison has found space to personally take pride in her performance, acknowledging the slim margins that mark the differences in the sport's top echelons. “But in that moment when you know, it was just so close, you're always going to have those little 'what ifs' in the back of your head,” she told, as per the Team USA.

Both athletes shattered previous world and Olympic records, with Harrison's own Olympic best from Tokyo left in the wake of their Parisian effort. Indeed, this battle on the water not only pushed the paddle boundaries but the chronometer as well, with their times eclipsing the former world best of 44.50 set in May 2018. Harrison displayed a tremendous amount of resilience, overcoming recent injuries including torn ligaments in her neck, which almost sidelined her dreams. "Fighting that in the last week and trying to make sure having lidocaine patches on my neck every single practice, fighting that pain has been really hard on top of it," she said, as reported by Team USA.

The path to Paris was indeed not a paddle in calm waters for Harrison. Moving to San Diego, transitioning coaches and schools, combating injuries, Harrison managed to courageously navigate these personal and professional challenges. "I fought hard to get my mental health back to where it needed to be,” she acknowledged, as noted to the Team USA. 

Harrison, whose initial Olympic aspirations evolved as a reprieve from a potentially career-ending track and field injury, has emphatically established herself as a mainstay in her sport. She reflects upon the juxtaposition of her Olympic experiences, with Paris offering her an emotionally gratifying opportunity to celebrate with loved ones absent in Tokyo. "I wouldn't trade that for the world," Harrison exclaimed, according to the The Seattle Times.