The only other Australian to win a medal in the women's high jump was Michele Brown in Tokyo 57 years ago.<\/p>\n
McDermott had three attempts at 2.04m to extend the competition even further, but couldn't make the height, although her third attempt was agonisingly close.<\/p>\n
ROC's Mariya Lasitskene took the gold medal after clearing 2.04m with her second jump.<\/p>\n
"It's been a bit of a whirlwind," McDermott said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"Every height that I attempted, even though when I look at the bar I see the empty seats, I see every single person that's at home in our nation."<\/p>\n
"Every time that I thought about this moment it just brought love in my heart that I might be able to inspire someone, and represent our nation in the best way I can possibly do.<\/p>\n
"Silver's like gold for me today."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Had McDermott been able to clear 2.04m with her third attempt, she would still have needed to match the Olympic record of 2.06m to have a chance at the gold medal, given Lasitskene had passed 2.04m earlier than the Australian.<\/p>\n
And having come so close, McDermott says that will drive her in the months to come.<\/p>\n
"In the air you can feel the clearance. I felt I had it, but that's really just given me a hunger for more," she explained.<\/p>\n
"There's still room to work."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
McDermott, who won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, says her faith has paid a big role in her success.<\/p>\n
"As a teenager, I was always an outcast, and I got welcomed into a faith community that loved me," she said.<\/p>\n
"I thought of myself as a misfit, 2017 was my big moment and I decided to pursue God over sport, and whatever came with sport was a bonus.<\/p>\n
"That's just allowed me to soar over every high jump bar and not be scared."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"