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 Olympians share what they know
with kids through the Internet
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But today’s young people have one advantage. You can learn a lot from Olympians, even if you’ve never met one. That’s because many athletes are sharing their stories and offering advice to young people on the Internet.
Getting Personal
Need advice on how to overcome stress, get ready for a big challenge, or make a dream come true? Or are you wondering what skills you’d need to reach the Olympics? Six former and current Olympians have answered those questions and more on the Web as your “Olympic Personal Trainer” at www.olympic.org/personaltrainer.
Canadian runner Charmaine Crooks has been to the Olympics five times. She won a silver medal in 1984. She says preparing for challenges in sports can help you in other areas of your life. “Sometimes before there’s a big challenge, there’s always a lot of small ones along the way. So it’s learning how to manage small challenges along the way so that when the big one comes along it's almost easier to handle,” she says.
Overcoming Stress
Big and small challenges have one thing in common: They can be stressful. The Olympic Personal Trainers talk about that too. Pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, of Ukraine, says everybody has stress. He would reduce stress during meets by focusing on his technical skills, such as what he needed to do to clear the bar. He says he did it by lying down and focusing before his turn. People often thought he was sleeping! “Honestly, I didn’t sleep,” he says.
You can try another way Olympians reduce stress: Listen to music. “When you go to the Olympic Village, you see pretty much every single athlete walking around with headphones,” says Barbara Kendall, a windsurfer from New Zealand. Kendall is competing in Beijing –it’s her fifth trip to the Olympics.
You can also turn your nerves and stress into positives, Kendall says. Stress means the body is ready for action. Say to yourself, “Hey, cool, I’ve got these nerves and this stress, I’m ready to go, my body’s ready to go, I’ve got the adrenaline –bring it on,” Kendall says.
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Gold-Medal Qualities
There are certain qualities that winning athletes have that you can use in your own life, the trainers say. Egyptian swimmer Rania Elwani, who competed in the Olympics in 1992, 1996, and 2000, is now a doctor. She uses the example of being on a relay team. Even if you don’t get along with another member of your relay team, she says, “you have to work together for one goal.”
But one of the best ways to win in sports—and in life—is to try to have a winning personality, says Crooks. “Your winning personality will always shine through when you are able to do something that comes from your heart,” she says.
Learn more about sports and fitness goals direct from Olympians: www.olympic.org/PersonalTrainer
Olympians are blogging! Read their posts direct from Beijing on these sites:
- The United States Olympic Committee Web site
www.teamusa.org/blog - USA Today
www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/blog-index.htm
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