Why Gaze’s golden comments can do significant good for athletes
So medals galore, including a wealth of gold, but what has been talked about by NZ athletes may end up being more valuable than what they did.
Sam Gaze blitzed the men’s mountain bike field to win backto-back Commonwealth Games golds and then reflected on his controversial Gold Coast triumph which played a part in the worldclass rider battling mental health issues in following years.
‘‘We’re just athletes – we’re human after all. Everyone is exactly the same in this world,’’ Gaze said. ‘‘My identity [was] maybe attached a bit too much to the sportsperson. I had to try and separate those things over the past four years.’’
That it was Gaze, being a standout member of the Cycling NZ team, making such a pointed personal reflection on his identity, has to be significant.
A massive review released in
May said Cycling NZ’s high performance programme had a culture of ‘‘medals before process’’, a lack of transparency and accountability around selection and recruitment, and an environment where gender biases are prevalent.
It also found New Zealand’s high performance sports system needs a complete rethink to address the ‘‘chilling’’ power imbalance between athletes and sports organisations.
His considered comments don’t have to be a critical breakthrough moment for helping rectify the deep underlying problems within the organisation.
But it appears eminently wise to use the sensibly-spoken rider’s pronouncement as a guide.
At these Games many of this country’s elite athletes have talked openly about the mental effects of the demands imposed on them by top-level sport.
Backstroker Andrew Jeffcoat, who won gold in Birmingham, said he was ‘‘on the brink of depression’’ after missing out on a place at the Tokyo Olympics.
Prior to the Games starting, I wrote: ‘‘Given the intense examination of the ill effects of the high performance sport culture in New Zealand in recent years, maybe these Commonwealth Games can prove that excellence and its associated rewards need not be always formulated by one pressure-cooker method which does not suit all.’’
Following the brilliant results from the track cyclists in London, sprint coach Nick Flyger said: ‘‘The Games are tough. But we’ve still got to work hard, there is still some exceptionally good nations that aren’t here. But that’s the fun part, isn’t it? Trying to chase perfection, trying to get all the processes right, that’s what we’re trying to do.’’
There’s clearly still processes that aren’t on track yet – it felt that triple gold medallist Aaron Gate got the wrong end of the handlebars after his third gold when he said: ‘‘I don’t think we would have raced like we did if we all hated each other.’’
Gaze’s ‘‘turbulent’’ time since his triumph on the Gold Coast showed that personal success does not guarantee personal happiness.
There have been a few promising signs over the past 10 days that attention is being paid and progress is being made in trying to understand the importance of both.