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Olympic swimmer blames social media influence for failing to win gold medal

Olympic swimmer blames social media influence for failing to win gold medal

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Emily Seebohm, the Australian swimmer that set a new Olympic record in qualifying for the 100m backstroke final but narrowly missed out on the gold, has admitted that spending too much time on Twitter and Facebook may have affected her performance.

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Emily Seebohm (Sydney Morning Herald)
Emily Seebohm (Sydney Morning Herald)

Emily Seebohm, the Australian swimmer that set a new Olympic record in qualifying for the 100m backstroke final but narrowly missed out on the gold, has admitted that spending too much time on Twitter and Facebook may have affected her performance. After establishing herself as a hot favorite with her preliminary swims, Emily was showered with congratulations and encouragement on the social media sites, which, she says, made the victory in the final feel almost like a job already done.

"When they tell you a thousand times you are going to get it, somewhere in your mind you are just like, 'I've done it.'"

While clearly disappointed, Emily chooses to look on the bright side and celebrate the fact she got the silver, plus she still has a chance to rectify her mistakes as she's competing in another race this weekend. We suspect she'll be paying a lot less attention to her Twitter stream this time around, though.