Two-time Olympian Lacroix learns to leave anxiety problems in her wake
GLASGOW— Audrey Lacroix needed help.
The butterfly specialist was coming off a string of poor results and on edge emotionally as the pressure to make Canada’s Olympic swim team for the 2012 London Games mounted.
It didn’t seem like anything was wrong on the outside, but Lacroix couldn’t figure out why she was so far off her usually high standards.
“I was kind of swimming against myself,” said Lacroix, who would get so nervous she couldn’t eat on race days. “I was my own worst enemy.”
The Pont-Rouge, Que., native eventually sought medical advice with her spot at the Olympics in jeopardy and was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder controlling her life both in and out of the pool.
“It was hard to admit at first that something was wrong and that it was a big deal,” said Lacroix. “At first I started not doing well and would minimize the situation and didn’t ask for help. I waited a little bit before looking for people around me to support me. Once I was on a mission to get better all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.”
Lacroix eventually made the Olympic team for London, and with the help of teammates, coaches and medical staff, finished 12th in the 200-metre butterfly.
“The goal was just to race and to have fun and to live the moment,” said the 30-year-old. “It was little steps that put me on that Olympic team. Once I was on the team it got easier because I started believing in myself again.”
Lacroix is in a much better place now than those dark days two years ago, and will compete in the 100- and 200-metre butterfly at what will be her third Commonwealth Games.
The two-time Olympian learned a lot about herself as she dealt with her mental health issues, with a big moment coming when she told er teammates her story.
“I was really humble about it. I knew they would be understanding because they were high-level athletes as well,” said Lacroix, who won silver in the 200-metre butterfly at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “They were also trying to make that Olympic team. They were people just like me.”