Olympic Recap Part One
There is nothing that can be said or written that can accurately describe the rollercoaster of emotions and adrenaline that was the 2024 Olympic Games. It was an incredible experience that I will forever be grateful for - everything from floating down the Seine with the entire US team screaming “USA! USA!” during the opening ceremony, to watching Ian and Hans win their bronze medal, to all the small moments in between… An entire book will never cover everything I felt and experienced in those two weeks. But hopefully this will give you a small insight into what happened at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
I want to start with going back a couple months to the World Championships in May. I finished 8th, and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in my performance. I’d set a precedent for myself over the last several years by winning 6 World Championships in a row. Going from that level to not even finishing on the podium at the last two Worlds was a really tough pill to swallow. I was questioning everything - did I make a mistake by switching foil brands so close to the Olympics? Did I push myself enough to gain weight over the winter? Did I push myself too much? Should I have spent more time on the water instead of the gym this spring? Should I have left college earlier to train full time sooner? Do I still even have a shot at an Olympic medal? Why am I doing this if I may not even medal?
I had ALL the crazy thoughts and emotions going through my head questioning every decision I’d made over the last few years.
But something in my gut told me this was all part of the process, and I was doing the right things (and my gut is very healthy from drinking lots of kombucha so I trust my gut haha). And it was true - there was a lot of progress my team and I were seeing in the data and from my racing at this regatta, which meant we were working on the right things at the right times.
The spring had been crazy busy with four high-intensity regattas crowded into a span of six weeks, so my body was super tired and I knew I needed some time off at this point. And while taking some time off, I made some adjustments to my summer training plan that I knew would make a huge difference for the leadup to the Games.
On June 1st, I moved into an apartment in Marseille, and my team and I started the big final push to the Olympics. Given how difficult of a venue Marseille is, we knew I needed to spend as much time sailing in Marseille as possible to be as comfortable there as I am at home in San Francisco. And we did. We had incredible conditions every day, and I spent over 50 hours on the water in June, more than all my competitors. What’s more, I asked my mom to move to Marseille with me at the beginning of June to help me with cooking and nutrition. I had lost a ton of weight in the spring from a combination of sailing, traveling, and stress, and needed to be as heavy as possible in order to stay competitive with the top of the fleet (I was the lightest out of the top 10 at the World Championships). I could not have gotten through that month or been able to train as much as I did without her help.
On the water, I had my good friend Evan Heffernan come over to Marseille to be my training partner all of June. I felt like I improved so much with his help and we could see the improvements in the data. We were so productive and able to work on so much - everything from equipment testing, speed work, and match racing skills for the medal series. I came out of June exhausted but feeling on fire.
At the beginning of July there was one last practice regatta that everyone was doing before the Olympics. By this point, I knew Marseille like the back of my hand, and felt super confident in my venue knowledge and racing skills. And it showed - I won the regatta, which proved to my team and me that, again, we were doing all the right things and making huge improvements for the Olympics.
I have to add here that not only were we working really hard and making all these improvements, but I was having so much fun. I was living the life I had dreamed about growing up - I was living abroad, going on the water every single day, and training just one month out from the Olympics. It was stuff straight out of my dreams. And getting to spend all of that time with my coaches Chris and Tucker, and train with Evan - it was so much fun, and I’m so grateful to have experienced that summer.
After that final practice regatta at the beginning of July, I took a week off. I escaped to Palma, disconnected completely, and took a bunch of time for myself. I knew I needed some peace and quiet before returning to the chaos in Marseille.
When I returned to Marseille, the atmosphere and energy of the place was really ramping up. We moved into the satellite Olympic village in Marseille, moved equipment into the sailing venue, went to Paris to get all our Team USA gear, and even got to visit the main village. That’s when it all started to feel very real.
My training sessions during this week were awesome. Honestly, I had never felt better on the water - I was so in tune with the conditions and with my equipment. I was winning practice races (even beating a lot of the guys), my starting was sharp, and overall I was feeling totally primed for the regatta.
Now it was time for the opening ceremony. There is nothing that will truly describe everything that I was feeling and experiencing during this special event, but hopefully some of these photos give you an idea.
After opening ceremony, we returned to Marseille and I had eight days before my regatta started. While some of the other classes already started racing, there were scheduled training times for those not racing to allow us to get on the water. We got one training day in, but then the weather conditions completely changed - there was a big heat wave and barely any wind. The other classes were desperate for racing, and our training times for each day kept getting cancelled. So instead of being able to do something with my nerves and stress, I was stuck on land for six days, twiddling my thumbs, literally. Although it was tough, it was also really exciting to watch my friends and teammates race and to be in the environment of the Olympic venue. Being there on the beach when Ian and Hans won their bronze medal was something I will never forget. The energy and everything we felt as a team was indescribable.
But, I was still stuck on land, and the anticipation, excitement, and anxiety were building. Finally, on the day before our first scheduled race day, we were allowed to go out for a training session. I was relieved to get out on the water and just feel the wind and my kite and the foil. I remember being the last one out on the water all by myself with my coach Chris and having one of the most incredible sessions. One thing my psychologist and I had talked about a lot with regards to managing all the stress of this time period was staying present and practicing gratitude. And during this session, I was having so much fun just living out my dream. Physically, I was feeling pretty good. But mentally, I was feeling invincible.