It’s natural for an athlete to get emotional after winning a gold medal, but for Laura Anderson it has a special meaning.
The 26-year-old British rower and her team fulfilled a teenage dream by winning the women’s four-person sculls final on Wednesday.
After watching the London Games in her home country in 2012, 14-year-old Anderson knew she wanted to compete in the Olympics.
“My name is Laura Anderson and it is my biggest dream in life to compete in the Olympic Games, represent team GB in rowing and hopefully win a gold medal,” she wrote, according to Olympics.com.
But Anderson had trouble maintaining that belief.
“I threw it away because I didn’t believe it,” Anderson says. “I was 14 at the time. Why should I believe it? Young girls have a little trouble thinking of themselves as strong, athletic people, but that’s changing now.”
But everything changed when Anderson’s father, Don, found the note before he died of cancer in 2019.
“I had forgotten,” Anderson admitted, wiping away tears in Paris. “My dad reminded me about it a few years ago. I think he would be so proud. I’m just thinking about him right now. It’s really lovely.”
“It’s just a piece of paper, but it’s the most valuable thing I own,” Anderson continued, “probably along with this medal. I keep it safe in a tin in my bedroom, along with my dad’s old medals.”
Anderson teamed up with Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott and Georgina Brayshaw to beat the Netherlands and Germany in a pool best time of 6 minutes 16.31 seconds.
The victory was Great Britain’s first medal in the women’s four sculls since 2008 and the first ever gold medal in women’s rowing for Great Britain.
In terms of overall medal tally, Great Britain came in fourth with a total of 17 medals, including six gold medals.
