30. For the love of sport with speedskating legend Bonnie Blair
Everyone is in for an extra special treat as speedskating legend, Bonnie Blair, joins Laura for this week’s episode. The first American woman to win five Olympic gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games, Bonnie dominated the sprint events of long track speedskating across three Games. At the time of her induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, she was the most decorated female U.S. Winter Olympian of all time, and was also one of the most decorated female U.S. Olympians in individual events. Today, she shares the stories of her life, career, and achievements in the most open, honest and down to earth way, clearly demonstrating that she is as much a champion off the ice as she is on it.
In sharing the story of her life and career from her earliest memories, Bonnie touches upon her many Olympic experiences, as well as her schooling, training, and her stint in track cycle racing. She also details the impact her dad had upon her and her career, the ways in which she handles pressure, her post Olympic competitions, and what life has been like for her and her family during COVID. She finishes up by discussing the dynamic she shares with Laura of being an Olympian parent whose children are pursuing sports, and offering valuable advice for all to take to heart. Entertaining, warm, and thoroughly engaging, Bonnie Blair is a superstar professionally and personally, a shining example of one who has discovered the winning formula in both sport and life.
Episode Highlights:
· Bonnie’s journey through skating from the very beginning
· Her ‘school through the mail’ experience
· Bonnie’s first Olympic experience
· Increasing her training diligence and consistency
· Bonnie’s second Olympics and how they differed from her first
· Her track cycle racing experience
· Bonnie’s third Olympics and the years leading to them
· Her dad and the impact he had upon her career
· How Bonnie handles pressure
· Her fourth Olympic Games, her preparation for them, and Dan Jansen’s win
· Bonnie’s post-Olympics competitions
· Life for Bonnie and her family during COVID
· The dynamic of an Olympian parent with their kids who are pursuing sports
Quotes:
“I was racing at the age of 4.”
“She just won the race and she’s thanking me!”
“It really kind of became a lot about personal best for me, and challenging that clock.”
“It’s funny to see these people we look up to, like fanboying or fangirling other people, too – it’s awesome.”
“We didn’t have somebody with US Speedskating who was a media person who handled any of this.”
“I know what I need to do.”
“Doing that thing for the very first time is a very powerful moment.”
“When they actually announced that the other girl won, I was so relieved.”
“I like that you’ve won so many that you don’t know!”
“Everybody gets there a different way, and everybody has their own path, and what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.”
“Hone in on your strengths.”
“All these different coaches really gave me something at a time when I needed it.”
“The only person I can control is me.”
“He’s my younger brother that I never had.”
“To this day, hearing the national anthem has a whole different meaning to me.”
“It ended on a perfect note.”
“I did it because I loved it, the challenge of the clock, wanting to be the best that I could be, chasing those personal bests, and to me, you know, that’s kind of what it was all about.”
“It’s fun being a mom of kids that love their sports and are following their own journey.”
“What I did was stupid crazy…to try to think that you have to live up to something like that…that’s not right.”
“It’s really all about the love of doing something, and then giving it everything you’ve got.”
Links:
Mental Training: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn
Laura’s Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson
Connect with Bonnie:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonnieblairc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bonnieblair
16. Mindset is everything with speed skater Apolo Ohno
The one and only Apolo Ohno is Laura’s very special guest on the podcast today.
After claiming his first major speed skating title at the US Championships at the age of 14, Apolo went from kid prodigy to the most decorated US Winter Olympian in history—a title he still holds—earning eight Olympic medals in short-track speed skating across the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Games. Many of you will remember that he was also involved in one of the craziest short track speed skating races in history where, after colliding with 3 other racers and hitting the wall, he managed to skate over the line and win a silver medal. He shares that story and much more in the episode today.
Apolo begins the conversation by reflecting upon his first broadcasting experience, the effects of the Olympic postponement on athletes, and the first sports in which he participated as a child. He then compares and contrasts short track and long track speed skating, and relates his storied career in speed skating, including the game changing life lesson his father taught him, the importance and power of his shift in mindset, and especially the tremendous impact that sports psychology has had upon his performance. Apolo goes into great detail about the ‘assertive intentionality’ which revolutionized his training, and he provides all the details behind his infamous silver medal at the 2002 Olympics and his transformation as he reinvented himself for the 2010 Olympics. This fascinating conversation concludes with Apolo offering his sage advice for athletes. As an athlete who has experienced so very much throughout his remarkable career, Apolo Ohno possesses a unique perspective on setting goals and accessing each and every ‘reservoir of potential’ during their pursuit. Today you have a front row seat to hear him share his extensive knowledge, insight, and wisdom with Laura in this very special episode.
Episode Highlights:
· Apolo’s first broadcasting experience
· The effects of the Olympic postponement on athletes
· His early sports experiences
· Short track and long track speed skating
· Apolo’s speed skating career
· The life lesson his father taught him which changed Apolo’s life
· The importance and power of his change in mindset
· The impact that sports psychology had upon his performance
· Apollo’s ‘assertive intentionality’ around training
· The story of his 2002 Olympics
· His transformation for his 2010 Olympics
· Apolo’s advice for athletes
Quotes:
“It looked so impossible to me that these guys were leaning over at these impossible angles, going like 30 miles an hour, inside of a hockey rink. It just was so cool looking.”
“I don’t like racing against the clock – that seems very boring to me – I liked racing against other athletes and testing my might against them.”
“I was racing against men who were 30, 35 years old, who had been skating and training longer than I had been alive on this planet, and I was beating them with ease which was very, very weird.”
“At a flip of a switch, I was now being talked about as being a statistic, as being a kid who had it all but threw it away, who didn’t know what hard work and discipline was. And that was painful.”
“Whatever it is, I want to see real dedication and commitment from you.”
“It’s only a true failure if you stay down.”
“I have a mindset…that you are not willing to go to. I will go to the places in my mind that you are afraid to go through.”
“I have something upstairs and in my heart that other people around me do not have.”
“I had this untapped reservoir of potential, and that was my mind.”
“You’ve got to take pleasure in those small wins.”
“I was able to make such assertive intentionality around each training, pre-, during, and post-, that the quality of my training went so high.”
“Everything scarred me in some degree, and…it wasn’t healthy back then, but when it comes down to sheer performance, I think there was no one that was more driven.”
“We, as a country, needed to see some athlete like that, to get knocked down when he was supposed to win, and to not complain about it, and to not gripe about it, but to say...‘Life happens’…it was a blessing.”
“I’m so grateful that I didn’t win that race…anything else would have been different.”
“It was really about me exhausting any and all of the options, leaving no stones unturned in that preparation.”
“Every up, every down, every mediocre performance is an incredible learning experience and opportunity to light that fire within.”
Links:
Mental Training: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn
Laura’s Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson
Connect with Apolo:
Website: https://www.apoloohno.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apoloohno
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ApoloOhno