Got a problem .. Phelp is at hand
BEING mentioned in the same sentence as Michael Phelps is every swimmer’s dream.
Ross Murdoch has had a taste of the nightmare too.
Phelps stunned the world with his 28 Olympic medals in the pool then did so out of it in January when he opened up on his battle with depression.
Listening to the American superstar share his story in a bid to encourage others to seek support, Murdoch was inspired.
While he never classified himself as depressed in the wake of a painful Olympic venture of his own, the 24-year-old had mental health struggles to contend BY ALAN ROBERTSON with. After his failure to reach the 100m breaststroke final on top of missing out on the 200m field entirely, Murdoch spent seven weeks out of the water.
Rio had merely capped a miserable stint that started post-Commonwealths in 2014 with glandular fever and culminated in him getting psychological help ahead of last year’s World Championships.
Now, as he heads into this week’s home European Championships, he hopes being open about struggles can go some way to tackling the stigma that may stop others from speaking up.
Speaking exclusively to Record Sport, Murdoch said: “If I can talk about my own struggles it might help somebody through and think, ‘There is somebody else out there going through exactly what I am’.
“It’s feeling like you’re not alone and this person has found help so I can as well.
“You can look at people and think, ‘They’ve got everything, nice cars, money in the bank’ and then they come out and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been really struggling mentally with this’.
“And you’re like, ‘What have you got to complain about? Your life is perfect’. But nothing is perfect, everybody has their own baggage, their own issues.
“Michael has had a pretty hard time and you can only imagine being the greatest Olympian ever, how many medals you win then you go out to reality and you’re like, ‘What is this? This is a completely different life’.
“Seeing that journey and the amount he is doing to try to help is incredibly inspiring.
“I forced myself back into the water because I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t. Six months later I won the 200m trials. Thank god I got in the water, thank god I’m in this place now.”