“Even though it’s not like I’m making a ton of money from running, it’s really worth it to go to the Olympic Trials and get to compete. Since it is what I love to do and get to do every day, it’s just kind of cool for me because you do something you love,” said Indiana University alum and former track star Sarah Pease.
To be an Olympian you must have pure talent and skill. Most Olympians train in their sport numerous years before trying to compete in the Olympics, but Pease has a different story. She stands as an example that rather than just having talent, elite athletes must have innate abilities that can be stimulated with training. Pease tried out last year for the 2012 Olympic Trials and came out 10th in the nation in the 3,000-meter women’s steeplechase.
Pease started running track in the seventh grade and planned on being a basketball player until high school. When arriving to Indiana University she started track as a walk-on, but trained herself well enough to become a star her senior year.
Shocking most of her community with what she was capable of, she explained that competition is what motivated her.
“To keep the end goal in mind and knowing that the people you’re competing against are getting up and doing what they need to do then you feel that you have to do what you need to do. You just have to think about the big picture,” said Pease.
Although Pease worked her hardest all the years she competed in track, she was not alone in preparing herself.
“Coach Helmer has been coaching for so long, so his experience and the way he never let you have excuses. And your teammates they go through the same workout every day and they’re with you every day so they know what you go through. They’re your competitors, but they’re also your teammates and your fans,” said Pease.
Pease said being an Olympian is a lifestyle. Raw talent can only get you so far. The time commitment and the lifestyle is what people most struggle with.
“You have to make sure you do all of the little things you’re supposed to do, like getting enough sleep.” Said Pease, “after an hour run I may not want to stretch or get in the ice bath, but that’s just things you have to do.”
Former IU Track and Field and Cross-Country Coach and USA Track and Field Hall of Famer Sam Bell explains commitment from a coaches perspective, “If you do what you should do as a coach you let your kids teach you because they’ll teach you more than you ever knew. What their limits are, what they can or can’t do, teaches us about commitment.”
As an elite athlete you have to know what you are physically capable of and build on that to make you stronger. Bell coached at Indiana from 1970 to 1988 and won a total of 27 men’s and women’s Big Ten titles. Individually, he coached 90 All-Americans, including 7 Olympians along with being the U.S. Olympic team assistant coach in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.
Bell believes that one defining characteristic separates the regular athlete from the Olympic athlete.
“Self-confidence. And they are able to look at other people, see what they are doing, and steal it to use to their own advantage.”
Mind of Jazmyn 