How 9 Olympians Keep Their Nerves in Check Before Competing

I have a lot of emotions before I compete. Definitely a lot of nerves, excitement, anticipation . . . I feel everything! I want to get things right, I’m excited to show everyone what I’ve been working on, and there’s also the fear of not landing my run. I just try to keep communicating with my team so I can let them out and not hold things in, as well as use the proper tools to help stay in the zone.

I use visualization, music, breathing techniques, and just keeping the fun vibes alive to keep my nerves in check. There are some times when it’s important to step away from all the noise and use those tools to quiet my mind, and sometimes you just have to have some laughs with your friends (in my case, also my competition) to enjoy the moment.

But beforehand, I work very closely with my coach and psychologist during practices and even just in my daily routines. When things come up, we’re talking about them, figuring out solutions, and also experimenting with different visualizations and breathing and other tools that I can put into place so when the time comes, like right before the event, I’m well practiced with them and can utilize them easily. It’s a constant work in progress, and I’m always trying new things. Recently, I’ve really been leaning on those breathing/visualization exercises during my training sessions, before travel, and right before my heats at competitions.

My current favorite technique is progressive muscle relaxation, or PMR. It combines deep breathing with muscle tensing, which I find helps to not only get those breaths in (which can be hard with that pre-competition anxiety) but also connecting your mind to your body, which sort of grounds me, because I tend to get really shaky arms and legs.

I like to journal, read, and watch anime. Right now, I’m watching “Jujutsu Kaisen” and will probably finish that right before the Olympics start. I also always listen to music before my matches, which calms me down – but also pumps me up.

Kristen Nuss: We’ve gotten a lot of feedback of people just being like, “You can’t fully prepare for the amount of pressure and nerves that you will have at the Games.” But it is, I think, us just talking about the fact that it will happen.

I think just being OK with having those nerves is when we’ll be able to kind of talk it out amongst each other, and just be OK with being like, “Hey Taryn, I’m a little nervous right now,” and her not freaking out. Just trusting that you’re gonna be OK, and trusting our training. So yeah, I think just being open with it.

Taryn Kloth: I mean, we get nervous before games now, in tournaments that are not the Olympic Games, but as soon as we hit the first side switch – we always say, we’re like, “We have to get through the first side switch.” So you switch sides every seven points. And so it’s just: OK. As soon as that happens, then the whole world blacks out, and it’s just us on the court type of thing. We just have to get to that point.

Especially these past few years, as you get older, you have a different perspective on everything. I think really understanding that this is something I enjoy and started doing because I loved it and I’m still doing it because I still love it is important – remembering to enjoy all those little moments. When we’re laughing about something silly or something so cool as the stadium that we’re in or that outfitting that we get, just trying to enjoy every moment of it usually takes away from all the nerves. I just remember that I’m so fortunate to get to do something that I love on the world’s biggest stage and that nothing is going to happen if something goes wrong. It’s not like I’m performing a surgery.

The stress and emotions that come around with such a big event are just as important to prepare for as the physical side of competing. I actually try to take some time each day to get my head completely away from racing and focus on something else like painting, thrifting, or just going to a cafe with friends. I think it’s such a myth that athletes need to be in the competition mindset 24/7 and letting yourself take a break without feeling like you’re less of an athlete is so healthy.

It’s hard to know exactly how I’m going to feel at a race before I get there because the prep work and feeling going into my events is so different for each race, but usually I feel nervous, fierce, and really stoked to go and give it my all. Last Olympics, I’d get pretty emotional thinking about how proud I was to be there and how I was accomplishing my childhood dream, so that’s an interesting one to feel since I don’t usually get it in the normal competition circuit.

In the weeks leading up to the event, working with a sport psychologist is really important. That includes going through how every part of competing makes me feel, working on strategies to keep my focus throughout my run, and making plans to deal with any things in or out of sport that are causing me to stress. A few minutes before my run, I do a lot of breathing techniques, and I juggle during my warmup and between my runs to have something outside my run to focus on. I try to reframe any negative thoughts I have into more positive or helpful emotions. In the seconds before my run, I close my eyes, and visualize doing the run exactly how I want. I say out loud what my goal for the run is (“I want to make the final” or “I want to win”), smile, and then go for it.

Color breathing is also one of my favorite strategies. I assign each emotion a color (red is confident, blue is anxious, white is calm, etc.) and visualize myself breathing in the colors I want and breathing out the ones I don’t. I actually usually breathe white and blue out and breathe red in, but that will change depending on what I feel I need. If I’m really freaking out, I’ll practice breathing in white instead. It’s all about that perfect balance between stress and calm. I definitely need a mix of both to do my best.

Two things for me: visualization, for sure. I would imagine the perfect race, what that looks like and what it feels like. That was a big thing. And then [box breathing]. The last couple years of my competing, I loved it – I loved doing that right before I stepped out on the track, as my final thing. Something about kind of calming, and being present, I really enjoyed it.

Keeping my nerves in check before a big race is all about routine and mindset for me. I remind myself of all the hard work and preparation I’ve put in, and I trust in my training and the instruction I’ve received from my coaches. I also have a pump-up playlist with a lot of Megan Thee Stallion that gets me hyped up and in the zone to compete.

I feel a bit of anxiety, but it’s mixed with a lot of excitement, too – I think the two go hand in hand. It’s always such an incredible feeling to know that I’m about to compete on the world stage, and there’s a rush of adrenaline that comes with that. I try to channel all that energy into focusing intently on performing at the level I know I’m capable of.

I’ve also spent the last several months working with a sports psychologist who’s taught me to look at big meets and events through a logical lens, which helps me to stay grounded and not get overwhelmed by the moment. Before a race, I relax, think about my race plan, visualize it, and use positive self-talk to stay hyped.

When I’m not in the pool, I love to unwind and relax by spending time with my cat, Roo, who gives me so much emotional support and always puts me in a good mood. I’m also able to get peace of mind by prioritizing my nutrition, making sure I fuel my body with the right foods to compete against the world’s best. I’m super thankful to be partnering with Nulo, because they help me feel confident in knowing Roo is getting healthy food she needs to live her best life.

I think you just get used to the nerves. Obviously, playing every match is important, and I think that once you get older and you find your techniques and what works for you and how you can really get in the zone or get into whatever mode it is that you need to get in to compete, once you find that, the nerves are still there, but they’re controlled. You know what you have to go out there and do and you know what it’s going to take for you to compete that day at your best or your highest level. I think it’s definitely something your body adapts to and learns, but if you’re not feeling like butterflies in your stomach, that means you’re not ready.