Porteous reveals anxiety battles
On the outside, Nico Porteous oozes bravery but the teenage freeskiing sensation has lifted the lid on his pre-competition battles with anxiety and nerves.
Porteous became New Zealand’s youngest Olympic medallist when he won a bronze medal, at just 16 years 91 days of age, in the halfpipe at Pyeongchang last year. But even before his bronze medal run, Porteous was battling his mental demons. Porteous, who was nominated for Sportsman of the year at the 56th Halberg Awards but missed out to eventual Halberg Awards Supreme winner Tom Walsh, told Newshub he often struggles with anxiety and nerves before major events. ‘‘I get really stressed about being nervous,’’ he said. I stress myself out over being stressed out, I know that sounds weird but it puts me in a really uncomfortable spot,’’ he said. Porteous, 17, has been visiting a sports psychologist for five years to help him overcome his mental demons. Porteous claimed a silver medal at last week’s FIS Freeski Halfpipe event in Calgary to move to the top of the World Cup leaderboard. But even before that event, Porteous was feeling hamstring by his fear and nerves. ‘‘I had a panic attack at the top,’’ he said. My mind was just for some reason having a brain fart and I was asking myself why? Why are you doing this to me now? ‘‘I’m just so scared of what I am doing,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s like my mind’s playing tricks on me and telling me not to do something but my body wants to do it.’’ Porteous is already planning to go better than his bronze medal in 2022 when he competes at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.