PARIS – Nevin Harrison got yelled at by security for running through a gate moments after the C-1 200 meters canoe sprint final at the Vaires-sur-Marne flatwater course east of Paris.

She was hugging her parents.

“I wouldn’t trade that for the world,” Harrison said. “Getting to hug them was so worth it. I think I would take this Olympics a million times over the last.”

The San Diego resident, who trains on Mission Bay, won gold in Tokyo three years earlier, and silver here by 1/100th of a second despite going under the previous world record. But these Olympics didn’t have strict pandemic restrictions that barred fans, and Harrison went through a lot just to get here and even after she arrived.

Injuries, a coaching change, San Diego State classes, mental health — you name it — kept Harrison, still just 22, from being the dominant force in the intervening years since Tokyo. And then in practice last week, she tweaked ligaments in her neck. The pain was such that she came off the water in tears Tuesday, just two days before her first race.

“I’ll get home and get some imaging and see what really happened,” Harrison said. “All we can do now is pain management.”

Wearing a lidocaine numbing patch on her neck Saturday, she got through the semifinals and then burst from the gate in the eight-woman final, building a modest lead through 100, then 150 meters.

But Canada’s Katie Vincent, who finished eighth in Tokyo, surged to Harrison’s right and the bows of their canoes crossed the line seemingly in a dead heat.

After an interminable wait, the photo finish technology separated them: Vincent in 44.12 seconds and Harrison in 44.13, both under the previous world record.

The margin is the equivalent of 1.5 inches.

“I saw Canada was No.1, and I was hoping it was wrong,” said Harrison, trying to become the first American to win back-to-back canoe golds. “At the end of the day, it is that one extra stroke. She had it, and I didn’t. All I can say is congratulations to Katie.

“Coming off gold in Tokyo to silver, it’s disappointing in the moment, but I think in reflection it’s nothing but pride. I’m really happy with myself that I went out there and fought as hard as I did. But in that moment, when you know it’s that close, you’re always going to have those little regrets.”

Vincent added the gold to the bronze she won in C-1 500 meters Friday. Cuba’s Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys, the 2023 world champion, was third.

“I medalled yesterday,” Vincent said. “I went back to my hotel and said, ‘OK, that is my second (Olympic) bronze, so maybe it is time to change it up’. I just found another gear and dug a little deeper in that last 50. You have to hope for the best when you cross the finish line. I ended up on the lucky side of a close race.”

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