50 days to Rio Olympics: How to stay cool with Darren Campbell
By Mark Ashenden
Last Updated: 17/06/16 9:38am
It's less than two months to the Olympics and there are plenty of battles inside and outside the head still raging for most competitors.
Many are far from guaranteed to be at Rio with qualifying events just cranking up. Some have injury worries. Even those who have booked their spot will need to keep their form, stay fit and have a cool head.
Ten Sky Academy Sports Scholars have been fighting to make Brazil since London 2012. Darren Campbell (Sky Academy mentor and Olympic 200m silver and relay gold medallist) gives some tips for those dealing with the pressures of the 50-day countdown.
When an athlete knows they've qualified they should exhale, take a breath and start preparing - mentally and physically - for the world's biggest stage. They shouldn't be scared and should be ready for anything.
It's all about attention to detail and it's crucial for anyone with podium aspirations and performing at their best.
For an athlete still aiming to qualify, it's about tinkering and conditioning. In athletics, for example, the season is just starting and they'll be sharpening up. Because I ran the 100m and 200m, it was perfecting the bend for me. These athletes will be fine-tuning because come that pressure moment in a big race, this will keep you calm.
The little things make all the difference across all sports. Medals are won by the tiniest margins. Going up against the best in the world you need to be in the best shape possible and mentally in the right place.
Most athletes won't be favourites but you have to be mentally in position and ready if someone under-performs so you can compete at your best and take advantage. It's perfecting and trusting what you do.
You could get into that final and you might surprise yourself. You do not want to get there and just be a spectator because you haven't trained your mind to be in a final.
50 days is not a long time so you have to focus hard on these things. Every sports person gets nervous but really exceptional sports people can focus on what they do and do well.
Building up to the 2000 Sydney Games, I knew my straight running was good but I had never trained hard for the bend. I needed to try different ways to be efficient. My tactic was to come off the bend in the lead and trust my strength on the straight.
I made it into the 200m final knowing I had done the work and in the final I came off the bend in the lead and got onto the podium. My best got me an Olympic silver.
The Games is getting close but you don't want to be too intense - it's about controlling the mind and emotions. You carry on like it's another race.
You don't want to peak too early, physically or mentally. It's very easy to think about the Olympics and create fear. You don't want too much of that because then you're dealing with nervous energy and burn-out.
In every session focus on one thing. That will keep you hungry and alert and keep you out of the comfort zone.
You don't need to search too hard for things to work on though. It's trying to perfect everything you do and allow the sub-conscious to take over. It's like driving a car. When you sit down behind the wheel you don't think about pressing your foot. You don't think about gear changing.
Sport is very similar. We practice, run, jump, throw, we do it every day. It's just a case of perfecting those finer details so you trust everything you do. If you don't, you start thinking. That makes you over-think and that creates doubt. The hardest thing is to keep your mind clear. If you've done your work you can trust your work.
I found out I had qualified six weeks before my first Olympics at Atlanta in 1996. I was selected for the 4x100m relay and didn't prepare my mind. I didn't sit down and think about performing because I thought other runners such as Linford Christie and Colin Jackson would compete before me.
The night before the first race I was told I would run the third leg. I had never been so petrified. Unfortunately I dropped the baton and it just showed you about preparation. Going into the 2000 Olympics I had a different mindset.
I made the 100m and 200m final and I was thinking 'why can't I win a medal'. The rest is history!
The trials for those Sydney Games was a strange one. I finished in the top 3 in the 100 and won the 200. I had only been a 100m runner up to then in my senior career and it meant I qualified for both.
One of the management team approached me in the car park after the trials and said: "I know you've made both but we'd prefer you didn't run the 200 and focus on the 100 and relay. That's the only realistic chance of winning a medal."
I had strong words! What I achieved in the juniors showed I could do all the rounds and I wouldn't under-perform. I lived for championships and I thought I could do well. Fortunately they selected me and I won 200m silver.
As an athlete you need to have conviction of the mind and fight for your opportunity. Going into that year I had a feeling something special would happen and I wasn't going to let anybody stop that chance.
Whatever happens, don't think making or not making the Olympics or Paralympics is the end of the journey. Athletes sometimes get the tracksuit and think the job's done. The next part is performing at your best.
If it's your first time, just take it all in and feel empowered. It's the biggest stage and that's why you've worked so hard.
Embrace it and don't let it scare you. It's just another competition, you deserve to be there so soak it all up, perform and enjoy it all.
WHAT'S COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS
10-16 JUNE: IPC Athletics European Championships in Grosseto, Italy
23-26 JUNE: Lucy Garner, National Road Cycling Champs, Stockton-on-Tees
24-26 JUNE: Holly Bradshaw, Jessica Judd at British Championships, Birmingham
25-26 JUNE: Quillan Isidore, British BMX Round 7 & 8, Burgess Park
