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Louise Thomas
Editor
Believing in yourself can help you conquer many obstacles in life, and confidence has been key for many Team GB athletes’ successes.
Once you reach the Olympics, everyone around you is in top shape – so having faith in yourself and your abilities can give you an edge over your competitors and help you reach the podium.
But, self-belief isn’t always easy to come by. With the Paris Games less than a fortnight away, we asked some of Team GB’s most talented athletes how they stay confident when the spotlight is on them…
Veteran Olympian Laura Muir returned from the Tokyo Games with a silver medal in the 1,500m, and knows she performs her best when she dreams big and doesn’t focus on others.
Paris will be the Scot’s third Olympics, so she has been giving advice to some of the newcomers on the team.
“In my team speech at last year’s World Championships, I said, ‘Don’t put any limitations on yourself. Don’t say, because I have only run this time, I won’t make it, because you can,” recalls the 31-year-old. “And don’t expect things from others, because they could have a world record and might go out in the first heat.”
For the long distance runner, it’s all about leaving any self-doubt in the changing rooms so she can give it her all on the track. And Muir views bad races and knock-backs as opportunities to grow even stronger.
“Make sure you learn from your experiences,” she says. “Ask yourself what went wrong and how you can make it better?”
World indoor pole vault champion Molly Caudery is one of GB’s brightest stars – and she says staying positive has helped her achieve her childhood dream of representing her country.
Allowing self-doubt to creep in during pole vault could have detrimental outcomes, so she approaches every run-up with confidence, which allows her to fly over the bar gracefully. The Cornish athlete, 24, also tries to keep a positive outlook, regardless of the result.
“Every setback I have been presented with, I try and put a positive spin on it. I learn from it, so it isn’t a negative anymore,” she says.
“Every time I am competing, whether it has gone good or bad, I always have fun and enjoy the moment,” Caudery adds. “Pole vault is a lot easier than it looks, you just have to have a bit of courage to give it a go.”
Callum Wilkinson
Northamptonshire race walker Callum Wilkinson has overcome career-threatening injuries in the lead up to the Paris Olympics, and believes that in order to achieve greatness, you need to be your own biggest fan – especially as race walking is arguably the most “misunderstood sport” in the Olympics.
“It suits my character, as an underdog who is going to fight for something against the odds,” says the 27-year-old. “You’ve got to be your own biggest fan. When there is no one else cheering for you, you have got to back yourself.
“Confidence for me is always evidence-based,” he adds. “I am the most confident that I have been in the last three years, because I had my best result in three years.”
Having a tight-knit circle of positive people around him has also helped.
“The belief in my inner circle has always been that I could compete with the very best,” says Wilkinson. “Surround yourself with good people, who support you do and understand what it takes.”
Paris will be Morgan Lake’s third Olympics, and the high jumper has experienced ups and downs with her confidence along the way. She began her athletics career in heptathlon, so it took some time for her to build confidence in high jump.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be an Olympic high jumper,” says the 27-year-old. “Once I dropped heptathlon and was just a high jumper, I did feel imposter syndrome for quite a few years. I thought, this isn’t really my event – this isn’t where I am meant to be.”
However, staying true to her goals helped her overcome these feelings. She’s also learned not to compare herself, having experienced the intense pressure that came with starting her Olympic career at Rio while still a teenager.
“There was a lot of expectation that I would just rise and rise super quickly, but I struggled to get the best out of myself for years,” says Lake. “Sometimes when I am jumping these heights, I think, ‘Argh, I was jumping these 11 years ago’.
“But, when I look back about how my younger self did those things, I had no limits and no comparison, I was just jumping really freely. Now I try not compare myself to my previous self or to other people.”
Georgia Bell
Last year, 30-year-old Georgia Bell was unranked, unsponsored and working in tech sales – and now she is heading to Paris to represent her country in the 1,500m.
Despite being an accomplished runner in her teens, she quit after facing a series of injuries while at university. But taking up parkruns a few year ago reignited the passion – and self-belief is one of her tools.
“Everyone is so physically good, but I think the real differences are made with people who can handle the pressure and go in and not let the self-doubt creep in,” Bell says. “I am really confident and can put that mental side together well, which is why I am beating people who, on paper, should be beating me.”
Listening to upbeat music before a race also helps Bell get in the right mindset: “I race my best when I am in a good mood and relaxed, so I like listening to a bit of Dua Lipa, especially Illusion.”
She also emphasises the importance of bouncing back after a confidence knock-back.
“If you have just done a race that hasn’t gone well, just keep going to training,” she says. “Keep doing the right things and you know you will improve – it is all about consistency.”
