Stuart Weir wrote this piece on Olympic and World Champ Katie Nageotte and the way 2022 went from good to nice!
Katie Nageotte – now Mrs. Moon – on going from good to nice
For a very long time, Katie Nageotte was a very good pole vaulter. Now she is a good one – Olympic and World champion. Going again to 2018, she was fifth within the World Indoors in Birmingham after which the next 12 months, seventh within the Worlds in Doha. With out it sounding like a cliché, how did she get from good to nice? Her reply is fascinating. At face worth, COVID and having your poles damaged appear negatives fairly than positives, however Katie used each to her benefit.
“Within the 12 months of COVID, fortunately, we had been capable of maintain coaching when lots of people couldn’t. I’m all the time higher after a pre-season when we’ve got a few months vaulting, technically the best way my coach desires me to. It’s simple to revert to dangerous habits, and also you generally play catch-up in the course of the season. And through that 12 months, I knocked out numerous dangerous habits simply by means of repetitions. Within the pole vault, you get higher, greater than another, by means of repetitions on the runway. And I lastly had the time.
“Then, when my poles broke, I believe in Might 2021, I bought to attempt totally different manufacturers and discover the right one. I confirmed that I might leap excessive on all three manufacturers I attempted, but it surely comes down to what’s finest in your leap. So breaking the poles was a blessing in disguise”. For the report, her new poles are ESSX.
The connection between the bodily and the psychological in an athlete’s efficiency is all the time an interesting subject. Once more, I puzzled how Katie noticed that steadiness in her improvement from seventh on the planet to first: “It’s most likely 50-50, however I needed to sort out the psychological issues earlier than I might repair the technical issues. They’re equally vital however, if something, I’d say the psychological is extra vital. Up to now 12 months, the technical capacity didn’t go wherever, however when, mentally, you’re feeling down and doubting your self and are working by means of, nothing will occur. So for me, the psychological is extra vital – that has all the time been the problem for me. However they’re fairly even. I used to be doing numerous issues technically improper, however we couldn’t repair them till we fastened the psychological facet in order that I used to be attacking on the runway fairly than being afraid of it. That doesn’t go away, however I’ve realized tips on how to maintain it at bay”.
Then there may be the function of the coach. Katie has talked to me a number of occasions about how vital her change to Brad Walker in 2017 has been in her improvement over the previous few years. She explains: “Brad actually is the right coach for me as a result of he has by no means yelled at me or bought mad at me for not doing one thing he desires. He’s a really motivating presence, and I’ve all the time wished to do what he was telling me to. He doesn’t tolerate something lower than working your hardest. And I wanted that once I first went to him as a result of I didn’t know tips on how to work that onerous. It sounds type of bizarre, however I used to be skating by on potential and expertise, and he helped me get to a special normal. He is an ideal steadiness. He understands vaulting and simplifies it in a manner that I can perceive it. If I’m getting emotional, he makes it very matter-of-fact and retains the emotion out of it. The final 12 months has been a battle for each of us. He had by no means seen that model of me – I had by no means been a model of myself. He was very affected person with me all year long, and I give him nice credit score for that. I wouldn’t have identified tips on how to deal with myself! He offers me all of the technical issues that I want. Once I get a bit of labored up, emotional, and anxious – I are usually a really anxious individual – he’s good at being that voice of purpose, telling me that I’m going a bit of overboard. Like, ‘step again, you’re good’”.
Lastly, I needed to ask her the way it feels to be an Olympic champion and a World champion. I believe she favored the query! “Fairly wonderful. I really feel that profitable the Olympics was the dream come true and the cherry on high of a fairly phenomenal season for me. After which to again it up, having the previous 12 months once I actually struggled the place I used to be questioning ‘can I actually maintain doing this…Am I actually that good? Or did I simply have a extremely nice 12 months?’
💚PERCHE FKatie MOON 🇱🇷à Liévin.🥇Championne Olympique à Tokyo 2021🥇Championne du Monde à Eugene 2022#WorldIndoorTour #gold ✨ pic.twitter.com/loQCfiPoir
— Assembly Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais (@Meeting_Lievin) January 3, 2023
Plenty of doubts can come into your thoughts. After which to go and win the World Championship, particularly off a brief method. I really feel that it boosted my confidence in a manner that may by no means be taken away from me. Typically if you win an enormous meet, you may suppose you simply bought fortunate. However I do know I did the work and earned it – similar to everybody else. And if another person had gained the day, they might have earned it. It simply appears like I now have the arrogance that maybe I ought to all the time have had in my capacity. However I’m so fast to consider the dangerous days and the dangerous practices, however I don’t suppose I’m alone in that”.
Having simply bought married on the finish of December, Katie is having a break in early January earlier than opening her season at Millrose.
Company- Closing performanceMr & Mrs. Moon. (He’s British) pic.twitter.com/WgGUgyJ3i2
— Karen Locke🥑 (@klocke1) December 31, 2022
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