HEPTATHLETE POISED TO ATONE FOR OLYMPIC HEARTBREAK.
CANADA’S THEISEN-EATON BOUNCES BACK FROM DISAPPOINTING BEIJING OLYMPICS
After a brutal opening day of competition at the 2015 world track championships, Brianne Theisen- Eaton dutifully trudged through the media zone.
In the oppressive Beijing heat, rumpled scribes poked digital recorders in her face and asked her to describe what happened. The Canadian heptathlete mumbled that she didn’t know. They asked her how she could rebound from such a horrible performance ( by her lofty standards). She repeated that she didn’t know.
“Do you even think maybe you’re just not cut out for this?” one print journalist asked the broken athlete standing before him in Beijing’s Bird Nest stadium. She paused. “I don’t know. Probably not.” As it turns out, Theisen- Eaton bounced back on the second day of competition to win silver at the world championships. Still, the Humboldt, Sask., native flew back to her adopted home of Eugene. Ore., in mourning for the gold that got away.
“I think it takes every athlete a while to process something that they think is really traumatic,” she said in advance of this week’s World Indoor Championships in Portland. “I thought I was never going to get past it.”
The exchange with the journalist haunted her. “That was my lowest moment,” she said. “Who goes into the world championships ranked No. 1 in the world, has a bad competition, and literally doesn’t believe in themselves to the point they say they’re not sure if they’re cut out for it?’’
In the months that followed, Theisen-Eaton realized she needed to take the lessons from that moment and move on. Heptathlon is a marathon of sorts, consisting of 100-metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200- metre dash, long jump, javelin and 800- metre run. And chances are, on any given day, her performance in one of those events might prove less than ideal.
Mental toughness — the ability to rebound from disappointment with her self-belief intact — is key.
She hopes to test that new mindset in pursuit of winning indoor gold here in Portland in the pentathlon — which includes the 60-metre hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put, and 800-metre run.
“Now looking back at the world championships in Beijing, it’s not even a negative to me any more,” she said. “It honestly almost feels like, ‘ Thank God that happened.’”
Diligently working with her sports psychologist, Theisen-Eaton realizes her collapse actually came at an ideal time one year before what she expects will be her final Olympics. Perhaps, she said, failure is a vital stop on her path to success.
“I went into Beijing really comparing myself to other athletes,” she said. “I had this unrealistic idea of what had to happen to become a world champion. I can’t control what my competitors do. I know the people reading this might say ‘Duh.’ But when you’re in a stressful situation, your mind does funny things. You start to think irrationally.”’
In spite of her Canadian roots, Theisen- Eaton is a fan favourite here. Many of the locals simply think of her as a beloved Duck from her time at the University of Oregon competing alongside her future husband, world champion decathlete Ashton Eaton.
“For me, it’s sort of a hometown crowd,” she said. “With living here and going to school here for so many years, there’s sort of a fan base here. I’m actually curious to see what happens. I’ll be in a Canadian uniform, but people might not put two and two together.”
Much like in Beijing, Theisen-Eaton heads into the world indoor competition as the favourite for gold. She swears this time will be different, and she won’t let herself fall victim to the headspace that tripped her up in China.
“At this stage in my career, the goal is always that I want to win,” she said. “My first goal is to stay focused on what I have to do, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Come this summer, Ashton, an American, and Brianne hope to become the first married couple from different countries to win gold at the same Olympics.
Nothing has been announced, but the couple is expected to retire at the end of the Rio Games.
“Someone asked us the other day if we think we’ll retire together or if one of us will keep going,” she said. “You know what? We don’t even know how we would do this without the other person. I wouldn’t know how to be an athlete doing track and field without him, and vice-versa.”
Two gold medals would be a perfect final chapter to a gripping reallife story.