Their athletic abilities may seem superhuman, but even Olympians, veterans and first-timers alike, are still learning how to handle the pressure that comes with performing on the world stage. Nerves, self-doubt, and countless other stressors can happen to anyone. That’s why these athletes heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics are sure to have some fitness tips (and weird superstitious rituals) they can rely on when they need to stay sharp, focused, and feeling like a winner.
So what works? As the Summer Olympics get underway, three members of the U.S. team share the tools they rely on, from journaling to juggling.
The two-time Olympian says she experienced a lot of stress during her first Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, and since then she has been working with a sports psychologist to find ways to manage it.
Color breathing and visualization are two practices she relies on to stay calm and focused before a competition. “I assign a color to every emotion in my brain,” Leibfaert tells Yahoo Life—blue for anxiety, white for calm, red for ferocity, etc. “Then I visualize myself breathing in the emotions I want and exhaling the emotions I don’t want. So before a race I usually try to breathe in aggression and confidence, and exhale anxiety and doubt.”
Her physical training also helps her feel in control, especially in kayak cross, where athletes dive into the water from a ramp two metres off the ground.
“I’m scared of heights so it took me a while to feel comfortable going down,” she said. “Getting a lead from the start is obviously the most important part of the race.”
Leibfaert works out in the gym doing strength training and running, but quick reflexes are also essential to her sport.
“I put lights on the walls all over the place and when they come on I try to hit them as quickly as I can to work on my reaction time,” she says. “I also juggle a lot. I’m really bad at it, but it helps with my reaction time.”
The Tokyo Olympics was a great lesson for both Itkin and Leibfahrt.. “I knew there would be pressure but I didn’t know how to handle it and it just felt like my body froze up a bit,” the fencer told Yahoo Life, adding that he feels more prepared heading into his second Olympics.
“In the morning, before a match, I do a short meditation,” he said, adding that he usually just finds a guided meditation video on YouTube. Breathing is something he focuses on to not only get into the zone, but also to stay aware during a match. “Before, I would often get caught up in the emotions of the match and not breathe. Breathing is one of the things that helps blood circulate through your body. So I learned how to breathe properly while fencing.”
He also has a superstitious routine during games that helps him stay focused: “After every game, I change my T-shirt so I don’t get soaked, otherwise my clothes get heavy,” he says, “but I rotate which shirts I wear.”
The first-time Olympic athlete tells Yahoo Life that she likes to have a set routine when it comes to preparing her body for a performance (and the same goes for meal prep).
The 18-year-old spends nearly an hour every night stretching and massaging her muscles. “It helps calm me down, especially the night before I compete,” Field says. Using the same percussion massage gun, heating mat and other tools she uses at home helps her distract from the strain of competing in the Olympics.
As a pre-game ritual, Field and her team spend time in hair and makeup before changing into their swimsuits. Afterwards, the players huddle together to listen to the competition music and visualize their performance while lying on the floor with their legs up the wall, which helps relieve stress and gets the blood flowing, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“I say we’re not a superstitious team, but I don’t know. … There are some things we feel we have to do exactly the same way,” he said. [before each performance]”I have to hold this person’s hand and I have to look this person in the eyes,” she says.
They don’t rely on these repetitive behaviors to perform better, but rather to stay relaxed. “As a team, we’ve competed in a lot of competitions together and we know that we perform best if we just focus on ourselves,” Field said. “We call it our little bubble.”
