Why ‘dirty gold’ from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming’s new cult hero

3 months ago 8

Singapore: Mollie O’Callaghan was thrilled to win her 10th world championships gold medal on Wednesday in the 200m freestyle but the two happiest Australians in Singapore that evening could very well have been 200m butterfly bronze medallist Harrison Turner and his coach Shaun Crowe.

Winning is great, but often it’s the unexpected medals picked up by underdogs that mean the most to national swimming teams.

Turner, a laid-back Queenslander with cult hero potential, delivered one of the feel-good stories of the meeting with a shock third from lane eight in the men’s 200m butterfly.

With a big grin, Turner described his bronze medal as a “dirty gold”.

His shocked reaction evoked memories of Justin Norris’ bronze in the same event at the Sydney 2000 Olympics - a swim that pipped a young Michael Phelps.

French superstar Leon Marchand chose not to swim the event at these world championships, leaving one medal up for grabs for the rest of the field.

Harrison Turner reacts after his bronze medal in the men’s 200m butterfly final at the world swimming championships in Singapore.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Turner said. “I didn’t believe that was going to happen. My coach said, ‘You’ve got a lane, you’ve got a chance, so just back yourself’. You get to that 150-metre mark and everything is screaming at you to stop, but you just bite your tongue and dig deep.

“I never thought I’d be actually talking to you guys. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. I’m representing Australia and I love it so much.”

Turner’s path to the podium hasn’t been straightforward. After plateauing in the pool, he stepped away from elite swimming altogether in 2021 after trying to make the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics.

He began an apprenticeship to become an electrician. Time in the pool was also replaced by camping trips, fishing and surfing with mates.

Harrison Turner was ecstatic with his “dirty gold”.

However, Turner said he missed swimming and wanted to try and make an Australian team. Otherwise, he would never forgive himself.

For two years, Turner had been stuck on a personal best of 1:57 in the 200m butterfly — a time that wouldn’t have made it out of the heats in Singapore.

At one point during that period, in December 2023, Turner finished 14th at the Queensland championships in a time of 2:05.85.

But over the past six weeks, the 21-year-old slashed a remarkable three seconds off his lifetime best to eclipse Nick D’Arcy’s 14-year-old national record of 1:54.46.

Any swimmer or coach will tell you that’s seriously impressive.

“I just dug deep over the last few months,” Turner said. “I had no clue I would actually be here. That fire burns deep in the heart. It’s why you rock up for the early mornings when you’re feeling sore and shattered from the week. You just pick yourself up.”

At last month’s Australian trials, Turner clocked 1:54.90 to become the fastest Aussie in the event in 16 years. This week, he scraped into the final in Singapore to become the first Australian male to reach the last eight of the 200m butterfly at a world championships since 2003.

He is now the only Australian to win a medal in the men’s 200m butterfly in 52 years of world championship action.

Moments after Turner finished his media commitments in the mixed zone out the back, journalists from around the world snapped their necks as a man wearing a yellow Australian T-shirt yelled out at the top of his lungs:

“YEAAAAAH!”

It was Crowe, who proceeded to wrap Turner in a massive bear hug in a scene reminiscent of Laurie Lawrence’s famous pool deck celebration after Duncan Armstrong’s Olympic gold in 1988 in Seoul.

“It’s unbelievable” Crowe said. “I knew he could do it because he’s a great racer and got great skills. We made some tactical changes and he pulled it off. He’s dropped 0.8 [seconds] in a meet. Six weeks ago, he dropped 2.1 seconds.

“He’s very popular in the team because he’s just a really down-to-earth guy. He says hello to everybody when he comes on pool deck. He’ll talk to all the multi-class guys. Sometimes it’s frustrating because I want him to get in and do his session, but he’s talking to everybody on the way around.

“He’s only just starting his journey.”

Turner will be 28 when the 2032 Olympics are held in Brisbane. Put his name in your little black book.