Written by Quicksand is a serious issue, and not one of folklore. It has been around since sports began in our civilization. It does not matter what level or type of sport that is being played, quicksand can happen anytime…and sometimes at the worst time.
Mikaela Shiffrin qualified for multiple events in this Olympic Games. She is a high-performance athlete, travels the world to compete, and has won more World Cup races in a single discipline than any else in the world. Mikaela has earned everyone’s respect, and that started before she won her gold medals in the previous two Olympic Games and 73 World Cup races since 2012.
However, history does not guarantee future success. Mikaela has had a rough run at these Olympic Games. This is where the quicksand engulfed her. Mikaela came into the games well trained and by her own accounts, feeling good. She was skiing down slopes, focused on her turns, speed, and positioning when out of the blue, she skied right into some quicksand…and the harder she tried to get out, the more the quicksand pulled her in. No, it was not actual sand on the course or actual quicksand, it is something unknown that just happened.
From my own experience as a high-performance athlete, and as a coach seeing this happen at all levels, I can share with you how getting stuck in quicksand happens. There you are, focusing on competing, and something goes wrong. Maybe you just took a misstep, made a bad pass, had a poor turn, something felt off, or maybe something bizarre happened, like a bird flew into you. You still may have done well, even won or got a personal best, but something just is not resonating well. Why did that one mistake or even something outside of my control happen? It was just one time, right? You just focus on mentally, emotionally, and physically preparing for your next event or competition.
All of a sudden, it happens again. It may not be the next event or competition, but it happens within remembrance of that previous event. Was it just a bad race? Or maybe there was a problem with the course, court, mat, field, or something else. But you remember what happened last time, and couple that with the recent issue, all of a sudden you question yourself, your abilities, focus, training, eating and sleeping habits, eyesight, and even luck. Even if an athlete does not question themselves the first or second time, by the time the third time of crashes, failure, poor performance, or just some simple off-ness, you are sucked into that quicksand. The quicksand pulls you in hard, especially when you are trying to do everything to get yourself out, it just makes the situation incredibly worse.
This is where Mikaela Shiffrin is stuck in the quicksand. Mikaela has done everything possible to compete at these Olympics. She has mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared with her coaches, family, support group, and others who are part of her core training group. Mikaela was ready for these games and she is extremely more frustrated than anyone else about her situation, especially because Mikaela, her coaches, and supporters cannot identify the reason why this is happening to her. And if she continues to struggle, the quicksand will just hold onto her even tighter. Only time, relaxation, getting into a good and steady training regime, and her support group ensuring that she is in a safe mental, physical, and emotional environment, will allow her to get out of the quicksand.
For armchair athletes or Monday morning quarterbacks, who have never competed, or even thought about competing at the high-performance level, this has been a field day for them. They are quick to point out how poorly she has competed, even to go the lengths of saying extremely hurtful things to her. Mikaela does not deserve any of this. Mikaela has spent over a decade honing her craft and being the best in the world. And people saying things to Mikaela will actually make her situation worse, because all of those people feel to her like they are watching her in the quicksand and not only not helping her, but pushing her down even further. Mikaela, and all high-performance athletes are extremely fragile, and do not need people hurling insults at them during an extremely critical time when they are unsure of themselves. Please be courteous of Mikaela while she is in the quicksand and try to offer her some moral support during these Olympics and future competitions.