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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from News Talks edb.

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Speaker 2: Thea Co won silver and Rio. She also meddled in Tokyo.

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Speaker 3: Nobody has gone better than her sixty six and lydia

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Speaker 3: Co's standing over this one should be routine and is

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Speaker 3: indeed so the lowest round of the day five under

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Speaker 3: sixty six, lydia Co stays ten under.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that was bronze and Tokyo for lydia Co. She's

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Speaker 2: here for her third Games and joins us now on

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Speaker 2: Weekend Sport. How have you settled into to Paris, lydia.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I just flew in this morning as

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Speaker 4: I'm getting adjusted to the time zone here and doing

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Speaker 4: a little bit of media and then probably you know,

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Speaker 4: catch up with the guys later this evening. But yeah,

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Speaker 4: it's just great to be in Paris and now obviously

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Speaker 4: super honored and proud to represent New Zealand again for

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Speaker 4: my third Olympics.

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Speaker 2: Well, had great success of course in Rio, silver, Tokyo bronze.

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Speaker 2: What does competing at the Olympic Games mean to you?

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Speaker 4: Oh, you know, it means a lot. You know, I'm

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Speaker 4: always proud to obviously represent New Zealand, even when I'm

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Speaker 4: playing on the LPGA, But there's something about the Olympics

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Speaker 4: that's different. And you know, it's, without a doubt the

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Speaker 4: biggest sporting event for you know, I think any athlete

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Speaker 4: to and I think that is something that we all

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Speaker 4: dream of, you know, having the opportunity to you know,

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Speaker 4: be at the Games.

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Speaker 5: And you know, for I was very lucky enough to

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Speaker 5: be able to win both the.

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Speaker 4: Silver and the bronze in the first couple of games,

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Speaker 4: So it would be great to be able to meddle

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Speaker 4: again this year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well gold is the missing color Oldia. Is that

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Speaker 2: what you're chasing?

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Speaker 5: That would be great.

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Speaker 4: It would be like a Cinderella story if I was

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Speaker 4: to you know, win the goal. But you know, and

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Speaker 4: I know that I'm here alongside the best female golfers,

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Speaker 4: so it's not going to be easy. But you know,

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Speaker 4: I'm going to just focus on my game and you know,

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Speaker 4: try and play my best around the golf course and

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Speaker 4: you know, see where that puts me by the end

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Speaker 4: of Saturday.

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Speaker 2: All right, So how do you assess your form coming

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Speaker 2: into this Olympic golf tournament.

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Speaker 4: You know, I hadn't played that great in the middle

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Speaker 4: of my season. But you know, I had my best,

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Speaker 4: one of my best finishes this year a couple of

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Speaker 4: weeks ago, which is my last event had coming into

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Speaker 4: the game, So nice to come in.

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Speaker 5: With a little bit better momentum. You know, I was

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Speaker 5: able to.

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Speaker 4: Do some good work with my coaches on the past

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Speaker 4: few weeks as well, so yeah, you know, just keep

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Speaker 4: working the same things, and I feel like I'm moving

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Speaker 4: in the right direction, so it'd be great to kind

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Speaker 4: of put it all together this week.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned earlier about your pride and representing New Zealand,

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Speaker 2: and as you say, you do that every time you

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Speaker 2: play a game of golf, but in an Olympic games

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Speaker 2: with not just golfers but athletes from several other sports,

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Speaker 2: over two hundred Kiwi's all involved, is it a bit

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Speaker 2: special being around other Kiwi athletes in an occasion like this.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I'm not personally staying at the village,

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Speaker 4: so you know, I don't get to run into them

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Speaker 4: very often, but you know, and I don't get to

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Speaker 4: go home, so when I do get to see other

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Speaker 4: New Zealand athletes and New Zealand Olympians, it's really cool

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Speaker 4: because now I get to also hear a little bit

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Speaker 4: of that about their stories. And I remember Eric Murray

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Speaker 4: bringing me bringing his gold medal to come watch me

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Speaker 4: play in Rio as well. So hopefully I can see

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Speaker 4: and meet some of the other New Zealand Olympians. And

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Speaker 4: I know that New Zealand has won a few medals

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Speaker 4: in the even you know Emma Twegerl winning the silver

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Speaker 4: earlier today, So you know, hoping to get a lot

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Speaker 4: of the good energy and you know, bring bring a

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Speaker 4: medal for New Zealander.

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Speaker 2: Fantastic. So the course itself, presumably you've played here before,

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Speaker 2: although it's not the same one as the Avan Championship

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Speaker 2: as it. Have you had any experience on this particular course.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, everyone is very different to hear.

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Speaker 4: But I played a couple of practice rounds you know,

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Speaker 4: last year to kind of just get.

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Speaker 5: A feel of the golf course.

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Speaker 4: But the weather was was pretty bad when I had come,

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Speaker 4: so it know it was I was trying to survive

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Speaker 4: out there. But I think there's going to be the

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Speaker 4: toughest Olympic Games, uh as of yet. It's it's a

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Speaker 4: very high level, high caliber championship golf course hosting the

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Speaker 4: friendsh Open and the Ryder Cup. So yeah, you know,

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Speaker 4: I think I definitely need to bring my A game

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Speaker 4: and as much as I am going to try and

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Speaker 4: play aggressively because the goal is to you know, meddle,

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Speaker 4: but at the same time being strategic and smart in

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Speaker 4: the way you know, I positioned myself around.

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Speaker 2: The golf Does it feel like a golf course that

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Speaker 2: might suit your game?

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Speaker 4: I hope it, since my game I got no choice

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Speaker 4: around one way or the other. But you know, I

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Speaker 4: think the golf course seemed like a in a style

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Speaker 4: where it wasn't really fit for one starl player.

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Speaker 5: So you know, I I haven't seen the.

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Speaker 4: Golf course in over a years, so it'll be good

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Speaker 4: to like see it in like this championship, I guess

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Speaker 4: set up and seeing exactly what t's if and all

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Speaker 4: that and kind of figure my way around the golf course.

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Speaker 2: I saw an interview with you earlier this year, Lydia,

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Speaker 2: I think, was on the Golf Channel talking about this

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Speaker 2: Olympic Games, and you indicated then that this would be

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Speaker 2: your last Olympic Games. Is that still your mindset? Do

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Speaker 2: you think this will be it as far as Olympic

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Speaker 2: Games participation is concerned.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don't know what

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Speaker 4: I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow,

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Speaker 4: so I definitely don't know if I'm going to be

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Speaker 4: still around playing, you know, when the LA Games are on. Obviously,

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Speaker 4: if I am competitively playing during that period of time,

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Speaker 4: you know, my goal then would be to you know,

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Speaker 4: qualify again for the LA Olympics. But I think at

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Speaker 4: the back of my mind, I'm you know, trying to

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Speaker 4: treat it as my last hourah and kind of give

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Speaker 4: it my all here, and you just never know what

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Speaker 4: what's going to happen, you know, down the road.

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Speaker 5: So I want to as.

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Speaker 4: Much as I want to bring in my A game,

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Speaker 4: I also just want to really enjoy the games and

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Speaker 4: you know, enjoy being here for my third Olympics. And

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Speaker 4: I feel like I play the best when I'm having fun.

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Speaker 4: So it's a you know, hopefully channel all of that

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Speaker 4: and put some good you know, put some good golf

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Speaker 4: on the score.

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Speaker 2: Cun all right, And so just finally in the lead

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Speaker 2: up to Wednesday night over there Thursday morning for us,

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Speaker 2: when golf gets under why what do the next few

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Speaker 2: days look like for you, Lydia.

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Speaker 5: I'm probably gonna try and get a few holes after

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Speaker 5: the men's are done with their competition tomorrow, and yeah,

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Speaker 5: you know, just rest up today and get used to

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Speaker 5: the time zone.

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Speaker 4: And it's not very often where our tournament starts on

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Speaker 4: a Wednesday, so kind of pace myself, and especially in

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Speaker 4: big events like this, I think the energy level definitely

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Speaker 4: gets drained much more than maybe our usual other events

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Speaker 4: that we have on the schedule. So just being smart

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Speaker 4: and you know, prioritizing my practice and yeah, I just

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Speaker 4: enjoy it and hopefully I'm you know, I'm excited for

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Speaker 4: Wednesday to come around quick.

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Speaker 2: Yeah we are too. Lydia thanks indeed for joining us

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Speaker 2: and all the best in the Olympic Golf tournament looking

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Speaker 2: to complete that set lydia Co silver medalist and Rio

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Speaker 2: bronze and Tokyo who knows gold perhaps in Paris. I

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Speaker 2: think I said, I said Wednesday, Wednesday night your time,

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Speaker 2: Thursday morning for us. It's actually Wednesday night for us

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Speaker 2: that the golf gets underweight. So we'll wait to see

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Speaker 2: how lydia Co goes.

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