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The
Olympic Games can be both the most exhilarating experience of your athletic
career or your most devastating, depending on your expectation and preparation.  Now when I say preparation, I am not only
referring to your physical and mental training for the events you are
participating in, but also your expectation around the village itself, the team
members, team officials and management, media and of course fellow competitors.

While
simply competing in the Olympics will for many be the highest achievement and
the dream of a lifetime, I believe it must not overwhelm you to such a degree
that you loose focus and perspective when it comes to your events. 

It
is a well known fact that the majority of first time Olympians (I was one of
these in ’92 at the age of 17), become so carried away with the experience and
occasion of the games that they perform well below their potential, thus
leading to less than stellar performances with the accompanied deep seated
feelings of regret and disappointment. 

Such
feelings can do one of two things. 
Either they will spur the athlete on to strive for better results at the
next games, or they will lead to premature retirement with a sense of failure
and disillusionment with the world of Sport.

The
first thing we need to realise is that the Olympics is just another
competition.

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realise that in some sporting codes much of my approach may not be relevant
given that I was an individual athlete but I hope that somehow my insights may
assist you in some way].

In
Barcelona ’92, I was so focussed on the famous athletes that I allowed myself
to become totally intimidated and psyched out, resulting in very poor
performances and a disappointing first Olympic experience. Later, to avoid
making the same mistakes again, I made a point of ‘seeing’ both the Atlanta and Sydney
games as just another swim meet. In my mind I was merely competing against many
of the same competitors that I had faced several times before.  I also knew that I could not control what
they were going to do in their respective events.  All I could do was focus on my own race…
“Swim my Own Race!”

I
had prepared to the best of my ability physically, mentally and spiritually in
the months prior to the games and now that I was there, all I could do was to
relax and trust the work that I had done. 
If you have laid a good solid foundation through discipline and hard
work then you should be ready physically, at least, to deliver your best
performances, and ‘your personal best performance’ should be the goal.

Your
greatest battle will be fought in the mind. Be sure to visualise your event
often prior to the games so that you are prepared and know what your strategy
will be.  Don’t let the crowds or the
competition psyche you out.  You are
competing against yourself.  [Review my
previous articles on ‘Visualisation’ and ‘Swim your own Race’].

Controlling
your actual event may be the easiest of your tasks. Be very prepared for
unpleasant eventualities with regards to conflict within the camp, particularly
with team management, coaches and fellow team mates. 

The Olympic village is a very high stress
zone and not everyone handles stress well. 
Try to be considerate of your fellow team mates and hopefully they will
reciprocate your good behaviour. When it comes to coaches remember that many of
them are possibly as inexperienced as or more so than you are. They too are
nervous and where you at least have some measure of control over your
performances, at this point in the season, they have none, thus a very nerve
wrecking position to be in.  Everyone
will be under pressure to perform and the media will be hunting comments to
sensationalise and create headlines. 
Don’t fall into the trap of playing the game.

Also,
don’t pay too much attention to what the media write. You may even want to
avoid reading the papers altogether until after you have competed.

Management
and Administrators will undoubtedly upset some of you.  Make peace with it and don’t let it bother
you in the least.  Many of them have had
the past four Olympic Games to grow, learn, mature and change…. But have
not!  You can’t change them…. So ignore
them and get on with doing your best for yourself first and then your country.

People
turn ugly at the games and some whom you thought supported you may indeed prove
to support your competition.  The best
way to handle this is to keep your focus on the job you have trained to
do.  At the end of the day, win or loose,
you will return home and grow old alone with the memory…. So make your time
count. 

Know
that discipline will be your friend in the village.  One of the official sponsors for the Games is
Mac Donald’s and thus, even in China, you may find some self control of
necessity when you wonder through the largest cafeteria you have ever seen…
with all the free food you could wish for…. All kinds of desserts and sweets…
etc. 

Be
sure to choose your meals wisely. 
Sometimes it helps to get a general idea of the various foods offered,
then create a diet plan for yourself, or at least some healthy dietary
framework for the time prior and during your competitions. Wait until after you
have completed your events before you start sampling the new and ‘not so
healthy’ foods freely on offer. First compete and then eat!!!

Maximise
your experience and know that it is just the beginning.  There is much more to life than the Olympic
Games and those who invest all their hope and identity in the illusive
definition of success as it pertains to the Games will always return home the
looser.

Enjoy
Beijing, forge
new friendships, learn all you can, compete hard with honesty and most of all, value
the privilege that you have to celebrate your talents on the world’s greatest
sporting stage – The Olympic Games.

Good
Luck and God bless.