Schlosshan turns disappointment into motivation for next Olympics

Missing out on an Olympic debut can be soul destroying for an athlete who has dedicated their life to reaching the pinnacle.

- by Nick Westby

Missing out by 0.13 of a second even more so.

But, instead of being crestfallen or left to doubt herself or her place in the sport, Yorkshire swimmer Leah Schlosshan saw it as motivation. So determined was the then-teenager not to let the disappointment overwhelm her, she confronted it head on.

Where most might have gone on holiday or watched a boxset rather than wall-to-wall Games coverage, Schlosshan went to the La Defense Arena in the business district of Paris to watch the Olympic swimming competition.

"I'd come to terms with it by then," explains the 20-year-old from Adel in Leeds. "I was so close to qualifying that it was so annoying at the time, but I just went out to Paris to enjoy watching the Games because I love watching swimming; I'm a fan after all. I was over it, and watching it made me more excited to start the season."

She cheered from the sidelines as the British swimmers who had done enough to qualify enjoyed a successful Games in the pool, a meet dominated by one man, home favourite Leon Marchand.

"We were at the athletics one night when the French were screaming Marchand's name, and that was a spine-tingling experience," remembers Schlosshan.