My Rio: Tory Nyhaug (Canada): "It's painful"

Dec 27, 2016

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 7569 times

Name: Tory Nyhaug
Country: Canada
Number in Rio: 49
Result: 5th

How did Rio turn out for you looking back at the race now?
Tory Nyhaug: Happy with how I battled and competed right until the end. I did the best I could every lap regardless of anything, kept the mood light and just kept telling myself no matter what just do the best you can and be proud of yourself no matter what. Starts were off for racing so I had to compensate and race in other ways, but overall very proud.

So close to a medal. Do you re-watch the final on a regular basis?
Tory Nyhaug: Yeah of course, painfully close. No I don’t watch it on a regular basis, I tortured myself with it for a bit then said

screw it I’m not watching it anymore. It's extremely difficult to be in the Olympic final and be close and not win a medal. Then you see the 3 guys with medals on top of the world and it hurts a lot to be right there empty handed. Still when people talk about it or ask me about it, because almost every person that sees me or recognizes me asks of course after I came home haha, it's painful.

At what moment did you think you still had a podium spot in you during the final?
Tory Nyhaug: I never thought about it I just kept chipping away around the track, I got held up on the first straight and in the first turn so I was pretty far back. On the third straight and last straight I was just trying to find a place and then I saw I was catching up fast to 3rd, just not quite close enough.

Do you think the Olympic final had everything a BMX final should have?
Tory Nyhaug: Yes, extremely exciting and I think will go down as one of the most exciting and best finals at a major event ever. Truly had everything from a sick hole shot, many passes, guys going everywhere. It was awesome.

How long were you in Rio for in total?
Tory Nyhaug: About 10 days or so.

What are some of the good memories?
Tory Nyhaug: Standing up on the hill for the Olympic final and taking a moment just to think man this is cool lets have some fun! Besides that I loved meeting the other canadian athletes, hanging out and enjoying the entire experience.

Did you get yourself in a shady/sketchy situation while there?
Tory Nyhaug: Nope we were careful and made sure we didn’t put ourselves in anything.

How do you think the Olympic BMX track will look in 4 years from now?
Tory Nyhaug: I think it will look similar to Beijing and Rio. I think we’ve found now what works for great racing and doesn’t. BMX will be a great show in Tokyo like it always is.

What did you miss while in Brasil?
Tory Nyhaug: I didn’t get an organic Acai bowl on the beach this time! Man those things are the most delicious thing ever.

Was it good to be back home after the games with plenty of time to do nothing?
Tory Nyhaug: Actually I didn’t have time off right away I was home for 2 days then flew to Calgary to race our National Championships the following weekend. That was tough and tiring but I’m happy I went and won, it helped me get through the post Olympic emotions right away. After that I had a week off with friends then spent the next month training and racing the last 2 UCI BMX SX World Cups. It was after that I finally had a month off. I let my wrist heal, went to school and tried to stay busy, a change was nice.

How much time did you take off?
Tory Nyhaug: A month.

Are you back on the grind now?
Tory Nyhaug: Yes sir! Since beginning of November.

Plans for 2017?
Tory Nyhaug: I'll be staying in Chula Vista for January and February to get ready for the new year. I'm going to focus on the USABMX series, but also do the European UCI SX World Cups. I'll see how things go and decide later if I'll do Argentina or not.

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