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Olympian Interviews
Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter’s Personal Interviews with the
World’s Greatest Athletes
Lance Armstrong, Three-time winner, Tour de France, Cancer survivor: When Lance
came to San Francisco for the Grand Prix cycling series in September of 2001, I had the
opportunity to interview him. I said, "Lance I know that coming back from cancer has
made you mentally tough. How has that experience helped you stay positive in your training
and racing?" He told me: "Whenever I feel like I'm having a bad day out there on
the bike, I think back to Indianapolis in '96 and '97, when the cancer was in its worse
stages, and that puts life into perspective. I realize that things aren't so bad. Coming
from that experience, I can keep a positive outlook and handle any workout."
 Misty Hyman, 2000 Olympic
gold medalist, 200 meter butterfly:
I had the chance to interview Misty shortly after she won her gold medal in Sydney. She
talked about her performing edge experience:
"For some reason at the Olympics I said, OK, I'm not going to try to control this.
I'm going to allow it to happen. So I walked in there and just relaxed, and said OK, I can
do this.
"Everything went so smoothly. I don't remember the events of
the finals exactly. I know that I was definitely in the moment, and I wasn't thinking too
much. I was doing what I needed to do.
"I remember feeling nervous while going through my warm-ups.
I felt different than I ever had before. Things would just happen naturally when I would
get in the water. Even though I wasn't thinking about my stroke, I would just do things
correctly without really trying. My body would just take over.
"When standing on the blocks, I just said to myself, Ok, I'm
going to do a 200 butterfly, and I've done a million 200 butterflies in my life. I have
been training for this and I know exactly what I need to do. I remember being able to feel
every cell in my body and be completely present. Things felt like they were in slow
motion. I dove in the water and it just clicked. I felt more power than ever before."
 Stacy Dragila, World
record holder, 2000 Olympic gold medalist First Olympic women’s pole vault event
When I interviewed Stacy Dragila just before the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, she
related that: "Even when I enter a competitive event with an initial sense of
nervousness, I turn that feeling into an expectation of success. I get this feeling of
awesome power, an acute awareness, like there's nothing I can't do if I put my mind to it.
It's a kind of knowing that comes from inside, that I can always jump higher."
 Joan Benoit Samuelson, 1984
Olympic Gold Medalist First women's Olympic Marathon
I had the opportunity to give a talk on mental training at Bill Rodgers’ and Joan
Benoit Samuelson's running camp in Vermont. While out running with Joan I asked about her
mindset during her historic race in the 1985 Chicago Marathon, when she raced head-to-head
with Ingrid Kristiansen, the world record holder at that time. Joan had just won her Gold
Medal in the first ever women's Olympic marathon in 1984.
Joan related her experience: "That was one of the most difficult races of my life.
Ingrid and I were running side-by-side on a world record pace. We were at 31 minutes at
the 10K mark. I kept surging ahead, but Ingrid would always respond. I couldn't seem to
shake her. I had prepared mentally for the race by using imagery. During the marathon, I
would see myself running easily on my favorite ten-mile loop. Then I would picture myself
on a six-mile loop, followed by another ten-mile trail run. Dividing it up in my mind that
way made the race seem shorter and more enjoyable." In Chicago, Joan finally pulled
away from Ingrid, winning the race in 2:21:15. She broke the American record for the
marathon, and ran the 2nd fastest time in history. Her U.S. record still stands today.
 Marion Jones, 2000
three-time Olympic gold medalist
Marion Jones visualizes other top athletes to give her inspiration. In my interview with
her, she said, "I hope to be considered one of the best athletes ever. Whenever I
watch the Evelyn Ashfords and the Jackie Joyner Kersees, I see the sparkle in their eyes.
I don’t know what they’re feeling, but whatever it is, I know I want some of
that."
Marty Liquori, World best miler, Producer, ESPN’s Running and Racing
In my interview with champion miler Marty Liquori, he noted: "I have always believed,
if you want to be a champion, you will have to win every race in your mind 100 times
before you win it in real life that last time."
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Dave Scott, Six-Time Winner, Hawaii Ironman Triathlon
I asked Dave Scott: "Tell me about your greatest moment as a triathlete."
Dave told me: "Many people remember me for being the Ironman champion. I won
the Hawaii Ironman in 1980, '82, '83, '84, '86, and '87. But the race that means the most
to me is the 1996 Ironman. I was competing at age 42, with a full-time business and a
family. Even though I felt like I was riding on flat tires for 80 miles, I got it together
and I moved up from 26th place to finish in 5th place overall. That '96 race was more
satisfying than all my previous wins. That was the epitome of a strong mental attitude
carrying me through a very difficult situation." |
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