HE MAY ONLY BE 20 years old, but Australian skateboarder Kieran Woolley is already off to his second Olympic Games. The regular footer made his Olympic debut when his sport did – at the Tokyo Games in 2021 – at the age of just 17. Inexperience wasn’t a factor though, with Woolley upstaging many of his elder peers by finishing fifth in the final, narrowly missing out on a medal by just over two points. Now, he’s looking to make the podium in Paris, but the pressure will be on.
Few people will ever experience the level of pressure endured by Olympic athletes. Just think of it: the entire world is watching, you’ve spent your life training for this exact moment, and so much can go wrong. When you think of it like that, it’s not an enviable position, and it can take a toll on athletes unless properly dealt with. Thankfully, the Olympics are making athlete’s mental health a priority.
For the first time, the Olympic Village will contain an Athlete 365 Mind Zone at Paris 2024, a first-of-its-kind space designed to help athletes relax, recharge and mentally prepare for competitions. In this space, Olympians like Woolley can talk with mental health professionals from the IOC Safe Sport team; jump in a ‘disconnection pod’ for a virtual reality mindfulness experience, or even practise gratitude writing to help focus on the positive influences in their life.
Support is only part of the solution though. For an athlete like Woolley to succeed, they need a great deal of internal strength and a tried and tested routine to handle the tougher moments. Here, Woolley takes us through what he does to stay calm, take the pressure off and keep it fun.
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On the best advice he’s been given for handling pressure:
“The best advice is from my dad, and that is just to smile, relax, deep breaths and have fun. It usually works.”
On what’s going through his mind when he’s competing:
“To be honest, when I’m competing, like during my run, I don’t really think of anything. It’s just like you’re locked in and you go through the motions… and sometimes it works out.”
On how he keeps skating fun:
“I feel I keep a pretty good balance. The last couple months [has had] a lot of contests [and] that’s been hard. But usually I’m always going on trips, filming, just skating with my mates and trying to travel and just push myself – and that’s always the best path.”
On his morning routine on competition days:
“I make sure I get a good sleep the night before, wake up, get a nice breakfast, stretch for a bit, maybe get some physio, try loosening up my hips and stuff because they’re sore all the time. In Tokyo there were ice baths so I was jumping in the ice bath a lot and it felt really nice. I just switch off, maybe listen to some music, get fired up and then go out there and skate.”
On how he keeps calm before a contest:
“To keep calm before the contest I usually sit down, take a few deep breaths, remind myself to just have fun with my friends and smile, and that usually is what works for me the best. And I just look around and see all my friends and family and go for it.”
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will screen live and free on the 9Network and 9Now.
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Related:
Olympic breaker Jeff Dunne breaks down how he mentally tackles his sport
How Olympic champion BMX rider Logan Martin gets in the zone
