Day 8 – Second Place Heartache: Katie Hoff’s 16-Year Journey to Recover from The Games | The Game Inside The Games

Michael Gervais (0:00)

Day 8 from Paris. When an athlete fails to meet expectations on the world stage, what is the impact of that experience? We asked a special guest to give us a firsthand look. 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 (0:22)

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 (0:38)

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 (0:48)

Welcome back to Paris and The Game Inside The Games presented by Microsoft Co-Pilot.

Michael Gervais (0:52)

And as you can see, we have a guest joining us, American record holder, former world record holder, two-time Olympian, three-time medalist, Katie Hoff.

Katie Hoff (1:02)

Oh, so pumped to be here.

SPEAKER_4 (1:03)

I'm so excited as well.

Michael Gervais (1:05)

It feels like it's been a long time coming.

Katie Hoff (1:07)

I know. I feel like we've just been like DM-ing back and forth. And then it finally came to fruition here.

Michael Gervais (1:12)

Yeah. So.

Nastia Liukin (1:13)

And it's been even longer. Sorry to interrupt you guys, but for us, we were.

Katie Hoff (1:16)

Yeah.

Nastia Liukin (1:17)

We competed on the same team.

Michael Gervais (1:18)

It's amazing.

Katie Hoff (1:19)

And in Beijing. Yeah.

Nastia Liukin (1:20)

And I don't even know when the last time we saw each other was.

Katie Hoff (1:22)

So Beijing.

Michael Gervais (1:24)

In Beijing was the last time.

Nastia Liukin (1:25)

That's sad.

Katie Hoff (1:26)

I feel like maybe.

Nastia Liukin (1:27)

I know it's not like that. Yeah.

Katie Hoff (1:29)

But yeah.

Nastia Liukin (1:30)

So thank you for bringing everybody to get together.

Michael Gervais (1:33)

I know. It's so fun to talk about the game inside the games, like all the little things that normally don't get spoken about or brought to the surface because of, I don't know, media doesn't want to talk about it. But the psychology, the internal experience for the athletes is at the center of the whole thing.

Katie Hoff (1:52)

Yes.

Michael Gervais (1:52)

And so you guys both, you're legends in your field and the wealth of knowledge that comes from being inside the amphitheater, it can't be bought, it can barely be understood by many. And so we just want to celebrate those things that you've come to understand. So let's just start with your experience. You were flying as a kid, like you were really good. And the whole world was recognizing what you were doing. And then you arrive young. What was your first games?

Katie Hoff (2:26)

First games was actually Athens. I had just turned 15

Michael Gervais (2:29)

Okay. I mean, you couldn't even drive. And here you are representing the United States of America. What was that like for you?

Katie Hoff (2:38)

Overwhelming. Overwhelming. I think people always say like, oh my God. I think actually now it's coming in to view more of like, oh my God, because at the time it's just like, no, like you just make an Olympic team, you know? And now I have friends where they're like, my child is 15 I can't imagine my Billy in ninth grade going swimming at the Olympics. Are you insane?

Nastia Liukin (3:01)

But it's like you're normal. Like you don't know anything else in like a not bad way. But it feels very...

Michael Gervais (3:07)

This is really weird. It's your normal.

Nastia Liukin (3:09)

But it is. It's like it's all you know. And it's like you put a check by it. Like not to like take away from the actual experience. But it's like you train your whole entire life, all of like 15 years for essentially that moment. And you're just like, okay, cool. Made the team. Like it doesn't feel strange.

Katie Hoff (3:25)

So it does.

Nastia Liukin (3:25)

Right?

Katie Hoff (3:26)

It doesn't. And I actually just, I keep saying this to people. I went to the opening ceremonies for the first time. Obviously when I was competing, I was swimming the next day. So I didn't attend. You've talked about this. But it was the first time that I actually realized that being an Olympian is cool.

Nastia Liukin (3:42)

Wait, as in a few days ago?