“If you’re not first, you’re last,” couldn’t be further from the truth for Calgary’s Caeli McKay, a talented springboard diver who represented Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
When people see her Olympic rings necklace, they often ask if she competed in the Olympics. Their tone changes when she tells them she placed fourth.
She achieved that result at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she competed with her partner, Meghan Benfeito, in the women’s 10-meter synchronized diving event.
It was her first time at the Olympics, and just missing the podium was tough. Now, at 25, McKay is still dealing with the same situation.
She just finished competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she once again placed fourth in the same event, this time partnering with 19-year-old Kate Miller.
In addition to finishing fourth in the 10-meter individual event, McKay is all too familiar with coming close to winning but falling just short.
“Unfortunately, I’m really good at getting fourth. I’ve done it three times now at the Olympics. But I was happy, and I felt just pure joy after my last dive because I did what I came here to do,” McKay told CBC News.
Finding happiness despite not winning a medal has been a tough journey for McKay. At times, it felt like too much to handle, and over the years, she wondered if she should keep diving.
However, McKay realized that as difficult as the journey is, the lessons learned along the way are worth far more than “having a decoration in a little box” in her house.
“After my events in Paris, I couldn’t ask for anything else, and the feedback I’ve gotten from everybody, even strangers around Canada, just messaging me about how amazing it was for them to watch, it means a lot to me,” expressed McKay.
History Repeats Itself
Back in 2021, at the Tokyo Games, McKay competed with an injured ankle, which she hurt during training before the Olympics.
Her partner Benfeito had to help her out of the Olympic diving facility, and McKay wasn’t sure if her ankle would heal enough for her to dive at a high level again.
A year after the injury, McKay finished fifth at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Although the result was disappointing, it was proof that she could return to a high level of competition.
“It was really hard for me to accept how tough the journey was, and to have been fifth at worlds a year later, I was just super proud of that at that point. It was part of this stepping stone challenge that I had to go through again with the same kind of doubts and worries,” explained McKay.
This summer in Paris, McKay went in as a strong contender for a medal in both events.
While she had won medals at the Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, and World Cup events, finally stepping onto the Olympic podium would have been the ultimate achievement.
Instead, she gained more lessons and a new perspective by guiding Miller through the disappointments, helping her see things in a way she hadn’t before.
“I had to put my big girl pants on and comfort her a lot, but it was a good lesson for her; I told her patience is key and that sometimes it just doesn’t happen on the first try,” said McKay.
“Being fourth on your own, I can tell you, is hard, but being fourth together, you have someone to comfort, and we can laugh about it a little bit now…I know that it’s going to fuel her,” she continued.
Lessons Learned
Although McKay didn’t get the results she hoped for, her outlook on the Olympics has changed. With her family present in Paris, she was able to focus on herself and not be distracted by everything around her.
This growth and her ability to help Miller through a tough time have opened new doors for McKay, who now understands that the Olympics, or any competitive event for that matter, aren’t just about winning.
There is more to be gained from competing than a shiny medal and podium finish. She may not have been crowned a winner, but she is still an Olympian, a massive accomplishment in and of itself.
To be an Olympic athlete, being good isn’t good enough. An athlete needs to have the potential to be the best.
The chances of becoming an Olympian are incredibly low—about one in 500,000 people—but becoming an Olympian doesn’t mean you will win a medal.
Most of the 10,500 athletes who attend the Games don’t win medals, but they still walk away with valuable experiences.
“A medal is pride and joy, and we have the medal count on the wall in the Village, but at the end of the day, all of us athletes are humans with dreams. if you perform well and you’re at the Olympics, you’re pretty much living that dream,” said McKay.
So, even though McKay is leaving her second Olympics without a medal, she has a new perspective and a clear idea of what she wants to do next.
She’ll keep wearing her Olympic rings necklace and answering those same questions, but she’ll answer proudly this time. After all, not many people get to go to the Olympics twice.
“People see a fourth as a failure, but it can be a success for me; I’ve changed the way I define success throughout my career, and I’ve learned that if I want to succeed, I’m going to do it on my terms, and not let anyone else define what success means,” said McKay.
Not being first doesn’t mean you’re last. As long as you’re giving your best, something will always be gained. In McKay’s case, it was experience, perspective, and patience.
