In this age of shameless self-promotion in 140 hyperbolic characters or less, it’s inspirational stories like that of Annalise Murphy that provide a melodious interlude in the cacophony.
For four years Annalise Murphy was forced to endure the censure of the armchair critic. The elation of getting to within a hair’s breadth of an Olympic medal was swiftly followed by the crushing disappointment of an 11th hour implosion and being callously labeled as a “bottler”.
Fourth place in the Olympics is perhaps the cruelest position in all of sport. Unlike in events boxing, being the fourth best sailor in the world isn’t enough to earn having one of those coveted disks of precious metal draped around your neck. Despite leading her class throughout the event, she walked away with nothing to show for her incredible performance but the indelible memory of failure.
Through tearful eyes she told RTE News that the disappointment of coming up short in London would always remain a part of her. Armed with the knowledge that reaching such heights on the world’s biggest stage is a rarity not to be taken for granted, she knew the likelihood of her repeating that sensational form was slim. However, odds are made to be defied and the young Dubliner wasn’t ready to accept a reality where lightning doesn’t strike twice.
Four years later, the waterworks would be running again once the women’s laser radial sailing event had ended in Rio, but this time it was different. These tears didn’t sting.
Amazing scenes in Rio as @Annalise_Murphy meets her family for the first time after winning her Olympic silver medal pic.twitter.com/w4vlo0WhK8
— JOE.ie (@JOEdotie) August 16, 2016
The true mark of success is the ability to emerge the other side of failure as a stronger person. As is always the case, failure was the most readily available option for Murphy during her preparations for Rio, but she did not let her London demons lead her down that unforgiving path.
Instead she opted to draw strength from her past pain and bounced back in the best possible way, by claiming Team Ireland’s joint-best performance at the 2016 summer games. That silver medal finish provided a much-needed morale boost to sports fans following the hugely disappointing showing from the boxing team, who were pegged to be the island’s main source of medals at the games.
.@Annalise_Murphy is here 🗣🇮🇪👏🏻 #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/DxPdZZBkox
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 16, 2016
Perhaps what was even more impressive about Murphy in Brazil was the fact that she managed to captivate the public despite the fact that a large portion of her event wasn’t even broadcast live on TV. Anyone who got invested in the fairytale probably did so through her brother Finn’s exceptional updates on her Twitter and Facebook accounts, by listening to the radio commentary or by catching up through the delayed TV coverage.
Getting the masses to on board with a world so alien to so many of them requires the right representative. Just anybody wouldn’t do, but Annalise isn’t just anybody. She’s the heroine the sport needed in order to break into the mainstream in this country.
For although the sport is niche, it was merely a vessel for her to showcase universally appreciated human qualities such as unrelenting dedication, doggedness and integrity. Those who had just learned the word “regatta” were drawing inspiration from the blood, sweat and tears that were smelted down to form that silver medal.Everyone can identify with Murphy’s ordeal of being plagued by that dreaded “what if?” but very few have the courage to answer that question the way she did.
Sailing’s time in the Irish sun may have been brief, but we’re not too used to the heat this gloomy side of the Atlantic anyway. Murphy made hay, and it’s a real testament to her character that we all took note.
