Like I say to people all the time, if you don’t have the passion, you don’t have fire, and if you don’t have fire, you can’t ignite anything. What kind of an effect can that have on a person's mental health? Some of the pressure comes from within, some comes from coaches, and some is parental. JBS: Everybody looks up to Olympic athletes-young people do-and, while mental health is an issue in any age demographic, I think parents who in many cases push kids athletically need to realize that there are pressures associated with that.
People are still reeling from the decision of Simone Biles-and before her, tennis player Naomi Osaka-to drop out of competition. What do you think about the emergence of the issue of mental health in top-tier athletics? I totally get what athletes are saying when they say the mental taxation can get too much. People had counted me out because of the knee injury and Grete’s prowess. And all the pressure was on the late great Grete Waitz, so I felt very little pressure. For me in LA., I was an underdog coming back after arthroscopic knee surgery. It is easier for athletes who aren’t recognized as the one to beat. I think that it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, passion, and desire.Īnd I have been listening to a lot of interviews with athletes who have struggled with mental health issues, and I am glad that is being brought up, because there is a great deal of pressure put on athletes. I think anybody who makes it to the world stage, or the Olympic stage, is obviously a deserving athlete. So I think it’ll be very exciting to see how they stack up with other women around the world who have earned a spot on their respective teams. And I think most of the female American marathoners were surprise qualifiers. Joan Benoit Samuelson: I think it is anybody’s race to win, as opposed to a race to lose. Rebecca Goldfine: As we celebrate the summer Olympics, thirty-seven years after your historic run, I am wondering what you make of the current slate of elite runners at this year’s Olympics? Who’s your favorite? The following is a lightly edited transcript of a recent conversation with Samuelson. "I hope to be able to meet her when she returns in the fall." "I saw her race and sent her an email to congratulate her," Samuelson said. Samuelson said she reached out to Grand'Pierre after watching her win her heat and break the national record. This year, Bowdoin has another Olympian, Emilie Grand’Pierre ’23, who competed in the 100-meter breaststroke for Haiti.
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