"I was absolutely sh*tting myself": Canada's Sydney Pickrem keeps it real after Olympic bronze

Aug 1 2021, 6:52 am

After winning the first medal of her Olympic career, Sydney Pickrem was keeping it real.

In an interview on CBC television shortly after she won a bronze medal with the 4×100-metre medley relay team, the Canadian swimmer was asked about how she handled her leg of the race.

Pickrem’s response was the best quote of the Olympics.

“Oh, I was absolutely — shitting myself,” Pickrem said on live national television, as her teammates burst out laughing. “I’m not going to try to sugarcoat it.”

You have to love how Pickrem paused before cursing. That’s as real as real can be. No sugarcoating here.

A first-time Olympic medallist, Pickrem went on to speak about the quality of her teammates — each of whom added to their career medal hauls.

Here’s the full interview:

 

After winning silver in the 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke races in Tokyo, Kylie Masse won the fourth Olympic medal of her career. Maggie Mac Neil, who swam the butterfly leg, now has a medal of every colour at these Olympic Games — gold, silver, and bronze. By winning bronze, Penny Oleksiak, who anchored the relay, became the most decorated Olympian of all-time with her seventh Olympic medal.

Back to Pickrem. We’re so accustomed to athletes giving cliché answers, that when someone like Pickrem says exactly what’s on her mind, it’s met with pure joy from viewers.

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