“I focus on what my body can do, not how it looks”

MORGAN

Morgan Lake is one of the world’s best high jumpers, but she hasn’t always been confident about her shape

As a major name in British athletics, Morgan is set to represent her country at the Tokyo Olympics. But even athletes get self-conscious. “It’s been a journey,” she says. “I swam when I was younger and was aware of having big shoulders. And I was tall, so I’d try and make myself smaller [by putting] my shoulders forward. That confidence just wasn’t there.” Morgan, now 23, won her first national athletics title at the age of 11, and trains five to six times a week. Currently studying psychology at Loughborough University, she finished 10th at the 2016 Olympics. “You do naturally compare yourself to other people [in the sport],” she says. “Especially if they are jumping better than you, or they are a certain body type and you’re not. But you can’t see how many hours of training they are putting in, so it’s much easier to make it about how you look.” But, Morgan adds, the most important thing is “to focus on the things you can control, and how you feel in your body.” These days, she says, “I focus on what [my body] can do, not how it looks. The main thing is having energy, feeling good and, for me, how much power I can generate.” Her confidence has been boosted since she embraced her naturally curly hair too. “I would always straighten it at school. I was trying to look like my friends with long, straight hair. Now I’ve embraced it. That’s been a huge moment instead of just burning it!” Morgan Lake is sponsored by Red Bull