January 29, 2020

How Did Carly Patterson Become the 2004 Olympic Champion, Find Her Identity Post-Retirement, and Master the Art of Self-Confidence?

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How Did Carly Patterson Become the 2004 Olympic Champion, Find Her Identity Post-Retirement, and Master the Art of Self-Confidence?

The Recap

Sam welcomes to the podcast All-Around Champion at the 2004 Olympic Games, Carly Patterson. Carly is truly a trailblazer for the United States as she was the first American woman in twenty years to win the All-Around Olympic Gold medal since Mary Lou Retton in 1984. Since her victory, the U.S. has won every consecutive all-around gold medal. In addition to her gymnastics accolades, Carly is a successful singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. In this episode, Carly discusses her journey to the Olympics and the unique factors that led to her success. Carly shares some stories from her own experiences the Olympics, including how Ashley Simpson got her pumped up before each competition. Sam and Carly open up about their identity struggles post-Olympic Games. Finally, Carly provides her insights on confidence, community, family and what it takes to become an Olympic champion.

Episode Highlights

01:23 – Introducing today’s guest, Carly Patterson

02:33 – Sam takes a moment to thank her sponsors, Tumbl Trak and Right Rice

03:53 – Sam and Carly share their first memories of each other

07:01 – Carly’s journey to becoming an Olympic athlete

13:32 – Carly recalls the moment she knew she wanted to go to the Olympics

14:22 – Making the National Team at age twelve

15:54 – Carly talks about the necessity to grow up faster than the average kid

17:22 – Carly’s greatest asset that gave her confidence in her skills

21:57 – Carly’s favorite international trip

25:06 – The culture of the USA Gymnastics team in 2004

26:29 – The role that nerves play

30:26 – The Olympic trials process

34:27 – Carly speaks to her confidence level going into the 2004 Olympic Games

38:30 – Carly walks listeners through her mental warmup routine

42:51 – Life after the 2004 Olympic Games

45:11 – Sam takes a moment to thank her sponsors, Tumbl Trak and Right Rice, once more

46:19 – The decision to retire after the 2004 Olympics

48:07 – Carly opens up about her struggles with her identity post-retirement

50:20 – Carly talks about getting into singing and exploring other passions

53:25 – The amplified pressure Carly felt after she became an Olympic champion

55:22 – Enjoying the most important things in life: community, friendship and family

1:01:37 – Unique qualities that made Carly an Olympic champion

1:03:38 – What confidence means to Carly

1:07:52 – Carly reveals one thing people can do to get 1% better each day

1:09:35 – Sam thanks Carly for joining the show

Tweetable Quotes

“I had a lot of refining and technique work that needed to be done even after I got to, ya know, the Level 10 level. I still had a ton of work that needed to be done. I was kind of like that fearless gymnasts where I could do a lot of skills and impressive things, but I would do them badly, like bad form, bad technique.”

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“I kind of didn’t have the fear to stop me and I think that was a big help, for sure. But, like you said, I definitely had all these other areas that I had to work extra hard at.”

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“To do good in a competitive setting, you definitely have to try and recreate those nerves – that feeling. And I think that I can attribute some of my success to that because I think it got me into where it revved my nerves up a little bit. I wanted to do my best.”

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“So, I had my Discman and my Ashley Simpson CD and I played that thing on repeat the whole time we were there. And, she was really getting me pumped up.”

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“It was hard because I always had my life, like every day, planned out for me. Everything was just you knew what you were doing. It was so regimented, so scheduled. And you had goals. And then…all of a sudden you’re on your own and I thought, ‘I need a dang life coach.’”

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“I joke, but I kinda truly feel like kids are harder than getting an Olympic gold medal.”

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“When you get frustrated, or when something is not happening like you want or as quick as you want it and you just want to blow up… truly take a step back, take a deep breath, and just think of something that is going positive or something that you’re doing right.”

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