What an exciting week it’s been for MTI athlete Maddie Radvanyi! One week ago she was just a student at school at Acadia University in Nova Scotia and now she’s the Canada Games GS Snowboarding Silver Medalist. This is only the 2nd Canada Winter Games medal for Nova Scotia.
I spoke with Maddie today and she let me in on the experience and also shared with me what made the difference for her in these races. When I asked Maddie what made the biggest difference in her performance, here’s what she said:
Belief
- Maddie and I had an extra call on Monday because she was feeling nervous leading into the competition because she was doubting whether she could get a medal at the Games. I had her look at all she’s accomplished, all the training she’s done, and challenged her to give me a reason not to believe in herself.
- Maddie shared with me that after our call on Monday she started repeating the following Mantra to herself: ‘I believe in myself’. She just kept repeating it over and over again to herself.
- As a result, she began to trust all of her training and experience and trust she could podium at the Games. When she raced, it was all trust even when she fell, she knew she could still medal.
Reframing
- After our call on Monday, Maddie realized that her nerves were a physiological response to her thoughts.
- So, in her words, ‘I stopped thinking about that stuff, and my nerves went away’.
- Maddie actively chose how she was going to think about her competition as an opportunity, and with that she was able to focus in on how she wanted to perform.
Perseverance
- Maddie fell in her first run of two that made up her semi-final race because she was trying too hard. As a result she was given a time penalty, so she knew she’d need to make up the time in her second run.
- In her next semi-final run, Maddie was ahead of her competitor. She trusted she could win and she gave it her all. She didn’t give up. As a result, she put pressure on her competitor and her competitor fell.
- Maddie made it into the final by about 0.02 seconds thanks largely to her perseverance.
Visualization
- Maddie was clear in her interview with the Chronicle Herald in Nova Scotia (read the full interview here) that visualization made a difference in her victory. (I even got a little shout out as her sport psychologist in the Chronicle Herald article :D).
- Maddie used visualization to prepare her for the race for the weeks leading into the Games, and also to familiarize her with the hill when she arrived.
- Note: You too can add visualization to your Mental Toughness Training by taking our online mental toughness training program
Maddie, we are all very proud of you and are clear that this Silver Medal finish is a result of the hard work you’ve put in both on and off the hill. Thank you for sharing your experience with others.