Day 10 – Family, Friends, Focus: An Olympian’s Challenge | The Game Inside the Games

Michael Gervais (0:00)

Day 10 from Paris. Our family and friends are our biggest support system. And at the Games, they can become a massive distraction. Let's dive in. Welcome back, or welcome to The Game Inside the Games on Finding Mastery. I'm Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training, a high-performance psychologist.

Nastia Liukin (0:19)

And I'm Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist, and we are here in Paris. And in this special series, we unlock the psychology of pivotal, often unseen moments that can make or break an athlete's dream. What's it like to focus a lifetime of experience into one performance, a single moment?

Michael Gervais (0:35)

What goes on inside the minds of the brightest stars while the whole world is watching? Welcome back to Paris, and let's dive into the Game Inside the Games.

Nastia Liukin (0:45)

Welcome back to Paris in the Game Inside the Games, presented by Microsoft Copilot.

Michael Gervais (0:49)

Nastia, I had four different people yesterday ask me for a ticket request.

Nastia Liukin (0:54)

I know the feeling. It happens all the time. And for an Olympian in competitions, those seemingly simple requests can actually be a huge distraction. And that can make or break an athlete's Olympic dream. It sounds a little silly, but it truly is the case. And today we're going to dive into how the pull of family and friends can impact an athlete's focus and performance at the Games.

Michael Gervais (1:15)

It is something that doesn't seem like it's a big deal, but it is one of the it's one of the main things that we put in place prior to arriving at the Games. There's so much happening, technical, tactical training, physical, mental training is all kind of culminating. And then what is the greatest distraction when we ask athletes when they get here? It's family and friends.

It's not the competition. They're really good at competing.

Nastia Liukin (1:42)

And they're ready. They've been training for mentally, physically only.

Michael Gervais (1:45)

20 years to get here. And so for athletes, it's work, it's game day.

It's a work trip for folks, right? This is a business trip. I'll say it again in that way. And then for friends and family, this is one of the greatest celebrations, one of the greatest parties. They've been saving up for it. They've been looking forward to it. Maybe with their children, they've been dreaming about it. And so there's a lot that goes into preparing this part of it. And have you had a personal experience in this when you were competing?

Nastia Liukin (2:16)

Well, I think I was a little bit lucky because both of my parents had been world and Olympic champion gymnast as well. And so they kind of were able to be that barrier a little bit of, I didn't also, I'm the only child, my mom's the only child, my dad. So really small family. So luckily, I guess we didn't have too many distractions. And then the few friends that kind of came, kind of almost understood. So I think, but I think I'm on the other side of it. It's like very rare that that happens. You know, I don't think it's normal for people not to like have so many, it's normal to have so many distractions. And so for me, I was so fortunate to have my dad as my coach right next to me, but I will have to say, we weren't really allowed to see our family, like until the competition was over. And it might sound a little strict or a little crazy to even, why can't you see your family? You know, it's the Olympics. Like you said, it's the biggest event.

Michael Gervais (3:17)

Well, one of the reasons is because they typically don't come to world championships. They typically don't come to, you know, grind it out competition somewhere on the planet. And so this is really unique. And it is one of the greatest celebrations. And this is a new element to manage. They know what a business trip feels like. And it's usually a coach, a couple of support staff and your teammates. And that's it. So now and it seems like, wait, why is this a distraction? These are the people that have sacrificed for you. Yes. These are the people that have been in your corner for a long time. Check. And there's another thing to pay attention to is that when they come out into the stadium, instead of doing their thing that they're very familiar with, oftentimes they're looking up now for the first time, they go find and scan to have a moment of eye contact. And that can be this wonderful wave that washes over and like, my people are here.