Willis shut up, then he put up
Kiwi track and field legend Nick Willis made a key sacrifice to chase Olympic 1500m history in Rio. And for him it was a big one.
He shut the heck up and stayed away from any sort of media, social or otherwise, as he affixed the blinkers for a Rio campaign he was well aware could define his long career as a world-class 1500m runner.
The gregarious Michigan-based pride of the Lower Hutt said he learnt a key lesson from his failed London Olympic campaign when he had taken on the role of New Zealand opening ceremony flagbearer and team captain, and the media commitments that went with it.
But when he followed up his memorable silver medal from Beijing in 2008 with a disappointing ninth place finish in the London 1500m final, he had a long, hard rethink on how he’d go about his business in Rio.
In a snail’s pace race yesterday, Willis’ blinkered approach paid a handsome dividend as he seized his chance beautifully, weaving through a crowded field in the finishing straight to snatch the bronze medal in the slowest run 1500m final since 1932. It made the 33-year-old Kiwi the oldest ever 1500m Olympic medallist.
Willis said hitting the mute button before and during these Games (he did one brief interview through the qualifying rounds) was his way of ‘‘focusing on my game’’ and it paid dividends.
‘‘I stayed away from social media for a month. I really wanted to get away from all the distractions and focus on how do I complete the art form of the 1500m,’’ he told Sky Sports.
‘‘Tonight was part of it. It wasn’t the gold I had another chance of the gold medal again but it was still very nice to get up on to the podium again.’’
Willis also revealed some rather direct advice from a global middle-distance legend had forced him to re-evaluate his approach to the sport in general.
‘‘Sometimes I think about it too much,’’ he added. ‘‘Steve Ovett, the great runner, I spoke to him two years ago and asked if he could Skype with me to get my head back in the game. He goes (raising his voice) ‘you think too much Willis, stop thinking and just race you bugger.’
‘‘So I think that’s helped out.’’