I interviewed five elite athletes in the days leading up to the Tokyo Olympics for The Gold Plan.
Despite competing in five different events, the athletes all shared common mental health and training discipline.
I was inspired by the way they all approach 'comebacks' as an opportunity to emerge from setbacks as new versions of themselves.
In the days leading up to Tokyo Games, I interviewed five Olympic athletes for a series called the Gold Plan.
Former and current Olympians Naomi Osaka, Anthony Joshua, Laurie Hernandez, and Karsten Warholm, and Paralympian Mallory Weggemann, opened up to me about how they train, eat, and think for success.
I was inspired by how these athletes tackled setbacks - like injuries or the pandemic - as an opportunity for mental and physical growth.
Since I wrapped the last interview, I've integrated this attitude into my daily life. When I have moments where I compare my body to how it looked when I was younger, for example, instead of wishing I still looked like that girl, I've found new ways to lean into becoming the best version of me now.
Dedication fuels Olympic performance
Elite athletes prioritize their sport over everything else, and that focus can help them ride through setbacks confidently.
400m hurdles world champion Karsten Warholm told that he overhauled his diet to fuel his workouts and said his nutrition made a difference in his performance.
Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua said he sacrifices social time to keep his head in the ring.
"I'm fully focused on my goal, and you've got to know how to cancel on people," Anthony Joshua said. "You've got to know how to be selfish."
He said he strives never to lose the "underdog mentality," and always stays hungry for success. It reminded me that if you lose your focus, you can always get it back.
Recovery is just as important as training for Olympians
While six-day-a-week training regimes are the norm, it's only through prioritizing recovery that elite athletes are able to train as hard as they do.
Warholm loves a jacuzzi and a massage, Osaka and Hernandez use massage guns, Joshua has infrared saunas and ice baths, and Weggemann takes full weekends off training, having realized it's better to train less, and be able to give it her all in each session.
Balancing downtime and work is crucial for performing at your best, and extended periods of rest should be seen as opportunities to get stronger - when Laurie Hernandez took a two-year break from gymnastics, it allowed her to return to the sport with a new, healthier mindset and approach.
She made me realize that breaks and time off aren't a bad thing, and they're actually essential for ensuring you come back to your goal with a clear head. You're not starting from scratch, you're continuing with more experience.
Staying positive is powerful
The coronavirus pandemic was a huge mental challenge for all athletes, but all the Olympians I spoke to said they decided to focus on the positives, and could then return in an even stronger position.
Warholm took the postponement as an opportunity to get even better (which paid off when he set a new world record in the 400m hurdles), Hernandez said she appreciated being able to spend time with her family, Osaka said she enjoyed the break from traveling, Joshua said he embraced the break from mental pressure, and Weggemann realized it would give all the competing athletes a unique shared experience.
It reminded me that dwelling on negatives has zero benefit.
Set-backs don't mean you should give up
Despite conducting the majority of the Gold Plan interviews over Zoom, I came away from each one feeling incredibly inspired.
Not one of these athletes has had an easy path to success, but they've never given up and have always worked through injuries and other set-backs.
People say that the greater the set-back, the greater the comeback, but these athletes made me realize that the whole concept of a "comeback" is problematic - instead of trying to be what we once were, we should grow into what we can be now.
By Rachel Hosie, Business Insider
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