'You can't change the past, you can't control it': Aussie triathlete Emma Snowsill's triumph over personal tragedy
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Emma Snowsill's Olympic victory was a triumph over tragedy, selection drama and ill health.
The tiny triathlete from the Gold Coast collected the Australian flag from an ecstatic spectator in Beijing, high-fived a line of fans clamouring in the front row and cruised over the finish line with an enormous smile.
Six years before her golden 2008 moment, her life had been rocked by the sudden death of her partner.
Luke Harrop, a fellow triathlete, was killed in a hit-and-run incident by a woman driving a stolen car.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see the moment Australian triathlete Emma Snowsill won Olympic gold!
Emma Snowsill cruising to victory at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Getty Images
Snowsill's life encountered more anguish in 2004, when she was not selected for the Athens Olympics despite the fact she'd become a world champion less than a year earlier.
And in 2007, a year before her glorious moment in Beijing, Snowsill had been diagnosed with asthma.
Not only did she win in Beijing, she won by an emphatic margin, crossing the finish line more than a minute ahead of her nearest rival, Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal. Fellow Australian Emma Moffat won bronze.
Snowsill's victory gave Australia its first and, to date, only Olympic gold medal in triathlon.
"I look forward to tomorrow," Snowsill said, reflecting on the challenges of her life.
"You can't change the past, you can't control it. The main thing is now, and the foreseeable future, and what you can do about it."
