CLEVELAND — Olympic-winning pole vaulter Katie Nageotte has shared for the first time that she's struggling with motivation following her gold medal run at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
In an exclusive interview on the 3 Things to Know with Stephanie Haney podcast, the Olmsted Falls native reveals that it hasn't been easy to find purpose in her training following achieving her lifelong goal of finishing in first place on the biggest international stage in August, and what she's doing to cope.
"I think having come off the year that I did, I am struggling a little bit with just the motivation," Nageotte told 3News, while explaining that it's been hard to get back to training when her purpose is so different now. "My entire career there's been this urgency of the Olympics, and pole vault by itself is really anxiety-inducing for me. It's not a stress reliever."
Quick to confirm that she's incredibly grateful for being at the top of women's pole vaulting in the world, Nageotte added: "Navigating training right now is different, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
Nageotte explained that being frightened by the physical act of pole vaulting has always been an issue for her, and why now having already achieved the goal of winning the Olympics is making things even more difficult, from a training perspective.
"[Pole vaulting] is a stressor, it's a little scary for me," she said. "And so that urgency of, 'OK, the Olympics is coming up, you have to get this done,' is now gone and so I'm navigating pole vaulting without that and it's been it's been interesting."
Despite her struggles with motivation, Nageotte recently posted a personal best from a shorter distance at the 2022 National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nevada, clearing a height of 15-feet-1-inch with a new approach where she doesn't "skip" at the start of her run.
"You know, it's definitely not the best vaulting training of my life," she said. "I know physically I am ready to go and obviously that [performance in Reno] proved that, and I'm excited to know that, 'OK, even if I haven't had my best practices ever, I'm still a competitor and I still have it.'"
It may seem strange to hear that someone who has achieved such greatness is having a hard time keeping her head in the game, but Cleveland Clinic Behavorial Health psychologist Dr. Matthew Sacco, PhD, explains that for the few who reach the highest levels in their chosen sports, it's more common to feel this sort of disconnect than you might think.
"When athletes are in training and preparing to compete it takes an incredible amount of time, energy, effort and focus. This process is often all consuming for chunks of time. Considering the reality that very few reach the pinnacle of success and catch that proverbial carrot that is dangling, the process to continue toward the goal is in itself often motivation to keep going," Dr. Sacco said.
"What happens when the ultimate achievement is attained and the carrot is caught? What’s next? That can be very difficult for athletes because there has not really been any prior experience that can capture the reality that comes with ultimate success. Finding motivation and purpose can be difficult at this point. Emotions can become overwhelming, in particular symptoms associated with depression and anxiety can surface or escalate if they were present before."
Dr. Sacco said that public pressure to appear as though everything is fine can add to an already difficult situation for the most accomplished athletes.
"Often a significant period of adjustment and re-appraisal of purpose can be very distressing for athletes and yet difficult to address because of the perception that they should not be struggling because after all, 'they have it all.' Many athletes will do what they do best and try to work harder to push through this barrier. As a result it can be difficult to identify when professional help may be helpful and even more difficult to take the steps toward that help," Dr. Sacco said.
"The more that elite athletes and those in the public eye are open about these difficulties, the more likely others will follow suit and reach out for help earlier in the process. It also means that with more open dialogue, we may get a better understanding of some of the differences that might exist between athletes that may have more difficulties with motivation, emotion or mental health following the peak of success and those that seem to adapt more successfully or in a healthier manner."
Speaking about her overall fear of the sport of pole vaulting itself, Nageotte, who was recently named one of Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50 Athletes for 2022, said it's terrifying to think about the reality of hurling her body into the air over a bar that is nearly 16 feet high (15-feet-9-inches high, in the case of her Olympic win).
"I feel like I sometimes self-sabotage and I make it scarier than it really needs to be, when we break it down. And the way that we vault is actually very safe but I kind of make it this bigger, emotional thing, and my coach has done a very good job of helping me navigate through that and dial it into the cues."
Bringing it back to her newfound struggle, Nageotte said that not having the pressure to perform on the Olympic stage makes it more difficult to look past her overall fear.
"Without that urgency and that motivation of Olympics, it's different," she said. "And I feel like I'm almost a little too relaxed because coming off the Games it was like, 'Ah, I did it, I don't ever have to prove myself again, this is great!' and now I'm like, 'I still want to prove myself! Where is that motivation?'"
It's a feeling that she's been battling for a little while now, having posted on Instagram on October 19, 2021: "Preseason starts next week and I’m trying to remind myself well in advance that I do in fact love this sport, and that the pain is worth it."
Nageotte clarified that her sense of motivation isn't completely gone, but it's been much more difficult to tap into it, as of late.
"I mean, it's still there because I know if I wasn't motivated i wouldn't want to go to any of the practices, I wouldn't want to go to the lifting or the sprinting or anything, and I do. It's just... it's different and we're figuring it out."
Coming up, Nageotte has big moments on her radar, so she may not have to wait long for that competitive drive to kick back in.
"There is a world championships in the United States," she said, referring to the World Athletics Championships which will be held in Oregon in July. "I think other than the Olympic Games competing at Worlds in your home country is about as good as it gets, so I'm sure as it gets closer that [motivation] will not be an issue."
She's also got her eye on a couple more top spots in the record books.
"I took shots at the American record an the world record last year and I really feel like I am capable of doing that, physically," she said. "Those are definitely motivating, as well. Absolutely there are things that I'm working towards and things that I'm excited towards."
The American record for women's pole vault was set in 2016 by Nike athlete Sandi Morris, clearing a bar at 16-feet-4-and-3/4-inches (5 meters), according to Track and Field News. The world record for women was set in 1982 by Russian competitor Yelena Isinbayeva, clearing a bar at just over 16-feet-7-inches (5.06 meters), according to World Athletics.
While Nageotte works to try to figure out a way to gain those extra inches, she'll continue to perfect her new pole vaulting approach. In the meantime, she shares perspective that so few can, while thinking of the athletes participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing (like Northeast Ohio native Red Gerard who is hoping to win gold again in the slopestyle snowboarding competition).
"I'm gonna be honest, I don't envy them because I know those nerves. And obviously they're excited but it is a lot of nerves, there's a lot of emotion and I personally hate that feeling. I love it in some ways. But they are ready and they are excited but they are nervous."
Nageotte's advice for Olympic athlete first-timers, like she was this summer, is to try to appreciate the magnitude of making it to Beijing, in the first place.
"When I went to Tokyo, I really just tried as best as I could to look at it as, 'I'm at the Olympics, no one can take this from me no matter how it goes,' and to just enjoy it for what it is," she said.
"I really tried to be as positive as possible with it and I think if the athletes can go in with that sort of attitude it really will help them. I know there are a lot of returning Olympians who probably don't need this advice but for the ones who are new at it, just enjoy it for all that it's worth, soak it all in, take it seriously but just have fun with it."
For more of Nageotte's exclusive interview, subscribe to the 3 Things to Know with Stephanie Haney podcast, available on all podcast platforms, the WKYC YouTube page, and the WKYC Instagram page.
