'Dirty gold, let's go!': New Aussie cult hero's priceless interview after clinching shock bronze medal from lane eight
Australia has a new cult hero to follow in the pool — a 21-year-old from Queensland called Harrison Turner.
The youngster produced a stunning result at the swimming world championships in Singapore on Wednesday night, snaring bronze in the men's 200-metre butterfly from lane eight.
Turner also broke the Australian record, cranking out a time of 1:54.17 to take down the 1:54.46 posted by Nick D'Arcy in Sydney in 2009.
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And he became the first Australian to win a world championship medal in the event.
Not bad for a bloke who entered the year with a personal best of 1:57 — a time that would have seen him eliminated in the heats in Singapore.
Ecstatic and in disbelief, he delivered a priceless interview on the Nine broadcast.
"No way," he beamed.
"If you told me I was going to win a bronze medal at the start of the year with a PB of 1:57, I would have been like, 'Yeah, nah, you're dreaming'. I'm lost for words.
"Being in lane eight, I just snuck in. I thought, 'I've got a lane, I've got a chance'.
"I never would have imagined to sneak in a bronze there.
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"Wow ... Unbelievably special for me. I still can't believe it.
"When I didn't see anyone to my side I was like, 'Geez, I might have a chance here', then I saw the boys coming in the last 50 and I just dug as hard as I could."
As the interview wrapped up, he clenched his fists and yelled: "Dirty gold, let's go!"
Harrison Turner celebrates his world championship bronze medal. Nine
Turner is competing at his first senior long-course meet as a Dolphin.
He made his senior Dolphins debut at the short-course world championships in Budapest last December.
In an indication of just how unexpected Wednesday night's bronze medal was, he dropped out in the heats of both the 200m butterfly and 100m freestyle in Budapest. He ranked 17th in the former and 26th in the latter.
The young butterfly talent hails from Nudgee, a suburb in Brisbane's north-east, and is coached by a guy called Shaun Crow.
Harrison Turner en route to winning a shock bronze medal. Getty
"I'm just thrilled to be here … So unreal. I never thought I'd be actually talking to you guys … This is something I have dreamt about," Turner said.
"I am just so stoked to be here representing Australia. I love it so much. It's an honour to rep the green and gold.
"Man, it hasn't sunk in yet. Like, I looked up on the board, and I had to look there for a bit. So I was like, 'Does it say third?'
"To be here in the final, you know, coming in eighth, but my coach said, 'Mate, you got a lane, you've got a chance, so just back yourself'.
From left to right: Silver medallist Krzysztof Chmielewski, gold medallist Luca Urlando and bronze medallist Harrison Turner. Getty
"I have a real good skill of believing [in] myself.
"That helps, you know, digging deep, and just knowing that you get to that 150 and everything is screaming at you to stop, you can just bite your tongue and just dig."
American Luca Urlando won gold in 1:51.87 as Poland's Krzysztof Chmielewski picked up silver in 1:52.64.