What I Learned At The Olympics

JB’s note: this is a guest post from my good friend and Canadian Exercise Physiologist, Dr Greg Wells.  Greg was part of the broadcast team for CTV and TSN for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.  And in this article he shares his Olympic experience – and what it takes to perform at the highest level.

In February, Canada, and the world, was captivated by the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

I was very fortunate to be a part of the broadcast team for CTV and TSN, so I had the opportunity to speak to millions of Canadians about my great life passion – human performance.

As a scientist in the centre of the Olympic maelstrom, I was able to look very closely at each Olympic success, dissect it, and determine what the difference was between the wining performances and the less successful ones.

There were several key events and moments during the games that had a big impact on me personally. Not only because of the inspiration of the performance, but also because of how the athletes were able to execute under pressure. Needless to say execution under pressure is what business is all about.

So I’d like to review these moments and highlight how we can learn from them to perform better.

Alexandre Bilodeau – Moguls

The first moment that captivated me was Alexandre Bilodeau’s gold medal performance in Moguls.

Alexandre Bilodeau

He was the first Canadian to capture gold on home soil and the shots of Alexandre and his family after the win were moments that will never be forgotten by the Canadians who were watching.

But what I noticed most were the 20 seconds before he even started his run. If you ever get a chance to see a replay of this, watch what he was doing before the run. He was nodding his head and repeating a statement to himself over and over and over. Once he had the ideas that he wanted in his brain – he began his run.

This technique is called positive self-talk where an athlete will repeat a single word or concept to focus the mind prior to or during a performance. This was very important as the potential for distraction at that moment was significant.

We can all apply this technique in critical moments in our lives and in business.

Have a few key words that describe what you need to do in order to perform. (Post event interview).

Joannie Rochette – Figure Skating

As with Bilodeau, people were amazed with her actual skate and the nearly flawless performance on the ice.

Joannie Rochette

Another moment that caught the world’s imagination was the performance of Joannie Rochette during her short skate program after losing her mother only days before.

However, the critical performance moment occurred before the music even started. As Joannie skated onto the ice to assume her start position, the crowd began cheering very loudly.

At that moment she began to become emotional and lose focus and control. She had the composure to turn around, return to the side of the ice, take a drink of water and then take 3 deep slow breaths before returning to the ice to begin her performance.

This was a brilliant move that allowed her to release some physical tension through her breathing technique, and also to recover her mental focus to stay concentrated on skating and skating only.

I used exactly the same breathing technique during my first on-camera interview during the Olympic coverage when I spoke to the tragic events at the sliding track on day 1. Fortunately, I had a colleague who spoke for the first minute during which I could take my deep relaxing breaths before I had to answer questions related to the accident in front of millions viewers.

The effects on me physically and mentally were powerful, and this is a key skill for anyone who has to perform at their best. Deep breathing is a great tool for relaxing the body and letting the past go so that you can focus and concentrate on your next performance.

Jon Montgomery – Skeleton

Another star of the Olympics was Jon Montgomery.

Jon Montgomery

He was the skeleton athlete who won a gold medal and then had such a wonderful reaction to the win. He pumped his fist in the air several times and let out a yell of happiness after the results were announced.

Throughout the games we were treated to the view of athletes from all over the world experiencing the highs and lows of the Olympics. It’s not too often that we get to experience the same highs and lows.  But it is possible for all of us to get close to this feeling in our own lives.

It all comes down to setting goals and dreams, and making sure those goals are challenging. Then, the more that you dedicate and commit to those goals, the better it feels when you achieve them.

So don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and your team with difficult goals. Then enjoy the feeling that you get when you reach your objectives.

The interesting theme for me as a scientist who’s engaged in helping athletes prepare for international competitions is that all these successful performers used different mental skills to achieve the same thing: to be able to focus only on their performance.

This may seem simple, but under the magnifying glass of the Olympic Games – in Vancouver – this was not an easy thing to achieve. Bilodeau was able to do it despite huge expectations around the first Canadian Gold medal on home soil, Rochette was able to perform despite losing her mother days before, and Montgomery attacked the course despite the unfortunate events on day 1 of the Games where an athlete died during practice.

Next Time You’re Under Pressure

The Olympics are inspiring because we see athletes that we identify with perform or struggle under pressure. Needless to say, we all face the same challenges to perform or struggle in our daily lives (although the pressure is much less).

So, with this article, I wanted to highlight the fact that the skills and techniques that these athletes used with success at the Games will work for us in business, academics, music, or in personal relationships. Here are a few ideas for you to try.

• Talk positively to yourself when you are faced with challenges.
• Take a deep breath, relax and approach the challenge you’re faced with only when you’re ready.
• Visualize the successful performance before the event.

These are simple skills, that when applied at the right moment, can be very powerful in helping you perform at your best.