Super U Podcast | Paris 2024 Olympics Edition
Are you already missing the Olympics? So are we. Today, you’ll be hearing tips from 7 of the USA’s top Olympians in this order: Jordan Chiles (gymnastics), Kevin Durant (basketball), Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss (beach volleyball), Nyjah Huston (skateboarding), Ryan Murphy (swimming), Coco Gauff (tennis), and Carissa Moore (surfing). Topics range from building confidence to mental preparation to knowing your why. See you in LA in 2028!
Need a sneak peek? Below are the main takeaways from the episode.
Tip #1: Jordan Chiles
“Well, it took me a while to get to this point of keeping my stress levels low. I’ve been in this era for a very long time. I’ve been here for almost the longest, I would say, and knowing each and every time is different, but I would have to say [that college] definitely helped with that. You know, understanding that this sport is fun, this sport has the ability to, you know, be enjoyed in a different way. And for me, dancing and singing and doing everything that I’m doing, getting the crowd hyped is something that relaxes me, because I feel like if the crowd’s involved, then you’re you’re at ease a little more. So that’s kind of where the stress level came from. But also knowing that I’m just here to have fun. I have nothing else to, you know, say, Give do what I like. I’m just being the best Jordan that I can be. And at the end of the day, my titles, my accolades, won’t be stripped from me. So I know that. You know, if I put my all effort into what I’m trying to do now, then I’ll just enjoy the. The rest of the ride this time. I’m an Olympian this time, and a world champion this time. So I think the biggest thing is knowing that I do have those on my shoulders, and I can do anything that I put my mind to 100% knowing that there was the time in Tokyo when I was put in a position [where] I was tested, and, you know, I succeeded that test. So I feel like now, with any test that’s thrown at me, I can fulfill it in a way that I know I need to, and just been enjoying each and every moment. Obviously, I’m not 19 this time, I’m 23 so my body is definitely telling me like you You are a little older, but I’ve just been enjoying and having fun.”
Tip #2: Kevin Durant
“I just, I’m not as charismatic as my peers. I don’t have a personality that’s like, fit for TV like my peers. And a lot of those stories of what we talk about don’t get spoken about in the media. And that’s just really what it is. It’s like, you gotta sell what you’re doing as well, and I haven’t sold it enough, you know, and I feel like I don’t, I mean, I don’t. I don’t feel like I need to. I don’t feel like I want people to call me a leader, but I also don’t want people to say I’m not one either, you know, I’m saying because they don’t see what goes on behind the scenes, or what I talk about on my intentions, or the relationships that I built with all my teammates and support staff. But when guys like that say that, I just got to chalk it up to them just not being aware of what goes on, instead of, like wanting to, you know, push a narrative for myself, maybe in our narrative, or tell the truth for myself. I, you know, expose the truth or how great of a leader I am. I don’t feel like it’s necessary. I just chalk it up to those guys not being aware of who I am.”
Tip #3: Kristen Nuss & Taryn Kloth
“Just talking about the nerves like we fully know, I mean, we’ve heard just you can’t fully prepare for the amount of pressure that you will feel there. So it is just trying to have that open communication with each other and just being okay, say, going into the match and being like Terren, I’m nervous, and her not being like freaking out, just trusting me and knowing that I’m just way around. I’m just expressing those feelings and again, just that open communication, rather than trying to like, bottle it all up and that that is what we feel, may be detrimental. But again, just openly sharing fully how we’re feeling, mine is also just connecting with family and friends, because right now, the only thing people want to talk to us about is the Olympics, because it’s such a big event, so talking with my family and friends, not about that, I think it’s kind of similar to what Carrie said, of just like getting out of that, and you don’t have to, like, that’s not your entire life. And so that’s been super helpful for me. It’s just like scheduling time and talking with other people about their loss because everybody has something going on that’s really helped me.”
Tip #4: Nyjah Huston
“I mean, keeping the fire going, it’s, it’s truly the love for skateboarding, and that’s something that I’m so thankful for and proud of myself of. Probably the thing that I’m most proud of myself of is just still having that love for, still wanting to go out there and compete, still wanting to go out there and beat myself up at some spot for two hours. Because, I mean, when it comes down to it, like, I mean, we, we’ve, we’ve done a lot in our careers. We’ve had long careers, and we don’t, we don’t have to still be doing that. And like, when I watched your last part, I was saying the same thing. I was like, bro, this dude’s done so much, he’s gonna have to be out here doing this stuff, beating himself up. But that’s, that’s, it’s an addiction, that’s that shit is instilled in us. And I’m personally gonna skate for as long as humanly possible. Like, bro, I want to be grinding rails when I’m 56 years old. I don’t know if that’s possible, but I think it is. People see me in the most random places sometimes, like, I’ll just be, like, waiting to pick up my car or some random shit, and just like, I’ll skate on the sidewalk, I’ll skate a curb for an hour and have fun doing it like, by myself. And that’s that’s truly what separates someone from from being a great skateboarder, because you got to be willing to have fun with it, no matter what you got to be willing to, like, skate by yourself, put in those hours of practice by yourself. And that was the difference [between] me and my brothers growing up. Is like, they kind of, like, wanted some friends there to help them, like, keep that energy and stuff when I was just out there, just doing a kickflip, just 100 times a day in my garage.”
Tip #5: Ryan Murphy
“Everyone’s gonna be a little bit different with how, how hard they lean into rivalries. I mean… Phelps’s personality is like Michael Jordan’s, so, like, if you watch The Last Dance, right? And, like, my Michael Jordan was like, “Yeah, you know, sometimes guys would say something that it really wasn’t too bad, but I’d make it bad in my head.” You know, Michael did that because he, I mean, he was in a program where, you know, you’re swimming a lot, and you kind of have to pull motivation from anywhere you can. And so he was, he was really a master at that. And I would say, like, that’s that’s definitely not everyone. Some people don’t want to feel they want to feel like they’re jumping into like, a 6am morning practice. That’s what they want to feel before race. So everyone is a little bit different, but I’m definitely of the mindset like, hey, if there’s anything we could do to pump up the adrenaline before the race, like, let’s do it because that I that’s when I feel like, that’s when I feel like a true professional athlete like you’re either in an arena that’s really loud, or you’re just, you’re, you could feel your heart beating that’s the most fun part of the sport.”
Tip #6: Coco Gauff
“It is hard at times, I guess dealing with it all because you you know, I don’t ever try to appear perfect, but at times, you know, there’s eyes on you and, naturally, I want to like, please everyone. And I think I had to really come to terms with myself realizing that it’s impossible to please, you know, millions or thousands of people wherever. How many people are watching? There’s always going to be somebody that finds something to nitpick. And there’s no perfect person. So even if the things that they nitpick are, you know, things that are valid and true, a lot of it is not, I think, just realizing, you know, there’s a set people around me, or maybe a set audience around that I want to target, that I want to, you know, be a good role model for. And the rest of it is just, you know, whatever you say, whatever I think, for me, it’s just when you realize, I mean, you know, your true core self, you don’t want people to shake that. And I think it took a lot of building and a lot of self-reflection to realize, like, the core of who I am is not tennis, and realize I’m much more than an athlete, and just trying to make sure that I don’t let what people say about me sway my opinion on myself. And obviously, I always try to be, you know, a better person, but you don’t want to let the negativity, you know, consume you, because you can’t, you can’t please everybody. That’s just impossible.”
Tip #7: Carissa Moore
“Well, I think my why has changed for each one. And I think also, just circling back to the idea that, like, I’ve been on the tour for 10 years, I’m a 100% person, and I think for me when I haven’t really been able to define that why, and that’s when you’ve seen me not at the top, or where I have had those few years where I’ve been kind of, I don’t know, a little wishy-washy, or not doing my best. So that is why is so important for me to define this last year for me was I just [had] a lot of personal reasons I wanted to for me. I wanted to turn things around. I think I was really struggling, so I wanted to show myself that I could turn things around. I wanted to do it differently than I’ve ever done it before. And most of my world title campaigns have been really up and down, and it’s been a roller coaster of emotions. So I was like this one, I’m going to go into it level-headed. I want to be resilient. I want to enjoy every moment, win or lose. I want to be able to process it without freaking myself out. And you know, I think for me, I also carried with me throughout this tour was the idea that, like, it’s I wanted to share my love with everybody and have it be bigger than just this contest or this world title I wanted it to be about, hopefully making a difference every step of The way. And that was really motivating to me.”
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The Super U Podcast is hosted by #1 bestselling author and Motivational Speaker Erik Qualman.
