[..] Other influences have been other athletes and crews.
Some of the major shifts in perception I have experienced have come about from observing what others do.
At a critical point two athletes stood out to me more than even the guys like the Oarsome Foursome.
Richard Wearne and Rob Walker raced the pair for Australia in 1994 and 1995.
Through their performances in those years they brought the idea and the possibility of being able to mix it at the highest level in to sharp focus.
The reason for this was that when I came into the sport the likes of the Oarsome Foursome were already established and they commanded attention.
In the season of 94 I was an U23 athlete just starting out and during out domestic season I had the chance to race against Richard and Rob in small boats.
At the time they were not together in the pair but I can still remember vividly when they became selected as the pair and went on to race at the World and win the bronze medal.
I thought, wow look at what those guys did that was amazing, and I was racing against them here in Australia.
It blew my mind to think that they were that good.
To compete in the way they did and to challenge the best in the World in the pair was something that triggered inside me a sense of possibility.
I heard many stories about how they went from selection into training and how they changed from domestic athletes into international competitors.
They weren’t big like Redgrave and co. They weren’t as laid back and considered as talented like the Oarsome Foursome.
They were races and found a harmony in the boat that enabled them to fly in the pair. They took on the challenge and performed.
It showed the way for a new generation to follow. They bridged the gap that had formed behind the four.
What’s amazing was how after they broke through so many other athletes started to believe they could do it to.
The gap had finally been crossed. [..]
Another part (2nd of 3) from a Favourite Blog Post titled Change by Drew Ginn (11 Jun 2007).
The point of this is that we can be inspired and motivated by others (ignition as Dan Coyle calls it in the Talent Code). A few people have helped me Believe and have inspired me to achieve things I would never have considered possible.
I hope that others might also Believe that anything is possible if we believe and take up the challenges before us
Some more thoughts on change and ignition here:
ReplyDeletehttp://eljeiffel.blogspot.com/2011/03/igniting-spark-of-change-by-durwin-long.html