The City of Lights delivered an electric Olympic experience for Finlay Knox.
Coming off a restricted 2020 Games in Tokyo, the 23-year-old took stock of the energy, emotion and passion emanating from the Paris La Defense Arena in his return to the Olympic Games in which the Okotoks swimmer raced in four finals.
“It was pretty incredible, as someone who really thrives off the crowd and energy, it was something I’ve never experienced before,” said Knox, an Okotoks Mavericks alumnus.
“When I raced in the semifinal of the 200 IM, the final of the 200 IM and the final of the men’s medley relay, where Léon Marchand was swimming in all three of those races, it was the most unreal experience ever. The chanting of the crowd, the energy they brought to those specific events.
“I really hope that I get an opportunity to experience something like that again.”
The 23-year-old competed individually in the 200m IM, finishing eighth in the final along with two fifth and one sixth place finish in relay events in Paris.
“It was a very busy schedule, but that’s exactly how I want it,” he said. “I want to go there and race every day and stand up and perform.
“In Tokyo, I was in the stands watching the 4x100 freestyle relay and medley relay and remember thinking in Paris I want to be part of those relays, to be in the finals racing against the best in the world with my team. To be in those, in addition to the mixed medley relay, was incredible. I love racing, but there’s something so much more special racing for three other of your teammates and giving everything you can for your team.”
In the 200m IM, Knox said it was a challenge to navigate preliminaries, semifinals and finals over a 48-hour period.
“That only takes place at the world championships and the Olympic Games,” he said. “It was only my second time doing that.
“Everyone else in that final had a lot more experience under their belt than me, and not looking at that as a deterrent, but more having that ignorance and going in there and experiencing it how it comes and not overthinking it.”
The Olympic experience in Tokyo, where Knox competed exclusively in the 200m IM, was curtailed by the pandemic restrictions at the time, not allowing for opportunities to hang around the athletes village or take in other parts of the Games.
“I was definitely a lot more experienced and taking the moment to appreciate everything I had achieved to get to this point,” said Knox, who swims roughly 60 kilometres weekly as part of 30 hours of training every seven days. “A lot of ups and a lot of downs, but it was a really good three years and nice that it was a shorter cycle than most.
“It definitely gets me more excited for the next four years, to grow and mature and get stronger.”
Though the Canadian swimmers didn’t participate in the opening ceremony, with swimming a day one event at the Games, Knox took the chance to support other athletes and watched the female skateboarding event.
But it was feeding off the energy of the crowd that will leave the lasting impact.
“It’s so great we were able to experience that, especially coming off Tokyo,” he said.
La Defense Arena featured a partisan French crowd, but there was a pocket of Canadian supporters there to cheer Knox on in parents Alasdair and Abby and brothers Robert and Rory, among many others.
“To know they were there with me when I was racing was truly special and something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said.
Canadian swimmers brought home eight medals from the Games, led by 17-year-old sensation Summer McIntosh’s three gold and one silver haul, the most of any sport at the 2024 Olympics.
Knox added he’s happy the men were able to contribute to the medal count with Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun finding the podium.
“We’ve been outshined by the women for quite a few years, they’ve paved the way on how to show up to a big competition and get things done,” he added. “We’re finally starting to get on that rhythm, especially Josh and Ilya coming away with multiple medals.
“Obviously, I would have liked to be a part of that, but for me progressing to where I was at the world championships in 2023 and Olympics in 2021, making those finals, making those next steps, it’s a great stepping stone for me. And I’m hungry for more, that’s for sure.”
Prior to the Games, the Canadian swimmers centralized in the Normandy city of Caen and visited the Juno Beach Centre. Knox called it an incredible team-bonding experience.
“Going there and bonding with one another, bonding as a country, that was a very special moment,” he said. “I’m so glad we got the opportunity to do that.”
Knox, who moved from Toronto to Vancouver to train out of Swimming Canada’s High Performance at the University of British Columbia, will begin his undergraduate studies in kinesiology next month.
