Canadian diver Caeli McKay has learned to define her own success in the face of Olympic heartbreak

Caeli McKay has fielded the question more than once in the last three years.

It comes with the territory when she wears her Olympic rings necklace.

People ask if she went to the Games, only to change their tone when she tells them her result: "Fourth."

That's how she finished at Tokyo 2020 when she and then-partner Meghan Benfeito finished just off the podium in the women's 10-metre synchronized diving event at her debut Olympics.

For the 25-year-old, it kickstarted a trend — one that is as strong as ever as she steps away from Paris 2024, where she finished fourth in the same event, now as the veteran alongside 19-year-old Kate Miller.

With an additional fourth-place finish in the women's 10m individual event, flirting with the podium is a feeling she's all too familiar with.

"Unfortunately, I'm really good at getting fourth. I've done it three times now at the [Olympics]," an emotional McKay told CBC Sports after her final dive in Paris. "But I was happy, and I felt just pure joy after my last dive because I did what I came here to do."

WATCH | Caeli McKay dives to fourth-place finish at Paris Olympics:

For the Calgary native, the ability to be happy despite falling short of her medal goal has been an agonizing journey.

It all seemed like it may be too much for a while, and through recent years, she pondered whether to continue with the sport.

"I've always wanted a medal, but it might not have been meant for me. The lessons I learned from finishing fourth so many times are more valuable than having a decoration in a little box in my house," she said.

"With my events [in Paris], I couldn't ask for anything else, and the feedback that I've gotten from everybody, even strangers around Canada, just messaging me about