Author – Ryan Miller
Ryan is an award-winning content creator and OMP’s Head of Content.
During the Paralympics, we have seen the heartbreaking moments when an athlete misses out on a medal by the slimmest of margins.
As with any sport, coming so close to achieving a goal can be heartbreaking.
So, what goes through the mind of a Paralympian who doesn’t make it onto the podium?
Speaking to the ABC, Australian Katie Kelly described what these athletes are going through.
Having won gold in the women’s PT5 paratriathlon in 2016, Kelly finished sixth in 2020.
“When you don’t get the result, and you’re expecting to podium and you come so close, there is almost a process of grief to overcome that and find a way forward, and I think we’ve seen that with a number of athletes,” Kelly said.
“To come away without the outcomes you’ve been training for.”
The long lead into the Paralympics can amplify these emotions.
When athletes commit to a four-year cycle, the pressure to achieve their goals are heightened and the sacrifices they have to make during those four years can compound feelings of pressure during performance and disappointment when they fail to medal.
“We talk about athletes when they retire and people are curious about why it’s a struggle for them, and it’s because the competition and the Paralympics is your everything,” Kelly said.
“You make decisions on a daily basis on how will this impact my training?
“If I go to that event or a family celebration, I won’t recover and I won’t be able to back up my training.
”The demand of professional sports, you can’t underestimate it.”
A further pressure for certain Para-athletes is when they compete alongside a guide.
In Kelly’s case she is legally blind and competed with the assistance of another athlete.
“Certainly, from my own personal experience, I won the gold in Rio and then in Tokyo I came sixth and I was just gutted,” she said.
“I was upset for my team and my guide. That’s the other thing when you’re competing with a guide or a team you go through that process of ‘have I let my team down’.”
So how do athletes like Kelly overcome these disappointments?
The answer from Kelly is two fold – learning and perspective.
“Sometimes when you get the win, it is a result for the work, but when you don’t get the win it really reveals a lot more about your character and resilience and grit to be able to process that and move forward,” she said.
”I think athletes, particularly the Paralympians, have a great perspective on life and the things that matter in life.
”It is a beautiful community of individuals who have overcome a lot and understand what true resilience is.”
