Former Australian swimmer Daniel Kowalski has opened up on the “dark times” he faced after the 1996 Olympic Games.
Kowalski won silver in the 1500m freestyle at the Atlanta Games with fellow Aussie Keiren Perkins famously winning gold from lane eight.
The disappointment of finishing second lingered with Kowalski long after the race.
“As the expectations I placed on myself grew and the fear of failure increased, I struggled. And that was evident in that race," Kowalski told SEN's This Is Your Sporting Life thanks to Tobin Brothers Funerals.
“I did a time that was ridiculously slow, so it was an extremely frustrating race because I’m just floundering in no man’s land.
“It was tough going and it proved to be tough going for a long time afterwards as well.
“It wasn’t until about 1999 that I really started to recognise that I needed some help because there were some really dark times."
Kowalski, a four-time Olympic medallist, eventually overcame the disappointment of Atlanta and can now take great pride in what he achieved during his swimming career.
“I’m extremely proud of what I achieved,” he said.
“Looking back, I’m disappointed in myself that I beat myself up about winning three individual medals and feeling like a failure.
“You get one opportunity for the most part, there’s not many who can back up and go to two (Olympics) and succeed.
“Those who can go on and go to three and Michael Phelps going to four or five, I just can’t comprehend that.
“Reconciling it all took a while but now I’m extremely proud of that because no one can take that away from me and I take solace in that.”