Katie Nageotte  – Now Mrs. Moon – On Going from Good to Great

Stuart Weir wrote this piece on Olympic and World Champ Katie Nageotte and the way 2022 went from good to nice! 

Katie Nageotte  – now Mrs. Moon – on going from good to nice

For a very long time, Katie Nageotte was a very good pole vaulter.  Now she is a good one – Olympic and World champion.  Going again to 2018, she was fifth within the World Indoors in Birmingham after which the next yr, seventh within the Worlds in Doha.  With out it sounding like a cliché, how did she get from good to nice? Her reply is fascinating.  At face worth, COVID and having your poles damaged appear negatives relatively than positives, however Katie used each to her benefit.

“Within the yr of COVID, fortunately, we have been in a position to maintain coaching when lots of people couldn’t.  I’m at all times higher after a pre-season when we’ve got a few months vaulting, technically the best way my coach desires me to.  It’s simple to revert to dangerous habits, and also you typically play catch-up in the course of the season.  And through that yr, I knocked out lots of dangerous habits simply by way of repetitions.  Within the pole vault, you get higher, greater than every other, by way of repetitions on the runway. And I lastly had the time.

“Then, when my poles broke, I believe in Could 2021, I acquired to attempt totally different manufacturers and discover the right one.  I confirmed that I might soar excessive on all three manufacturers I attempted, nevertheless it comes down to what’s greatest on your soar.  So breaking the poles was a blessing in disguise”.  For the file, her new poles are ESSX.

The connection between the bodily and the psychological in an athlete’s efficiency is at all times an enchanting problem.  Once more, I puzzled how Katie noticed that steadiness in her improvement from seventh on the earth to first: “It’s in all probability 50-50, however I needed to sort out the psychological issues earlier than I might repair the technical issues.  They’re equally essential however, if something, I’d say the psychological is extra essential.  Prior to now yr, the technical skill didn’t go anyplace, however when, mentally, you feel down and doubting your self and are operating by way of, nothing will occur.  So for me, the psychological is extra essential – that has at all times been the difficulty for me.  However they’re fairly even.  I used to be doing lots of issues technically flawed, however we couldn’t repair them till we mounted the psychological aspect in order that I used to be attacking on the runway relatively than being afraid of it.  That doesn’t go away, however I’ve discovered tips on how to maintain it at bay”.

Then there may be the function of the coach.  Katie has talked to me a number of instances about how essential her change to Brad Walker in 2017 has been in her improvement over the previous few years.  She explains: “Brad actually is the right coach for me as a result of he has by no means yelled at me or acquired mad at me for not doing one thing he desires.  He’s a really motivating presence, and I’ve at all times wished to do what he was telling me to.  He doesn’t tolerate something lower than working your hardest.  And I wanted that once I first went to him as a result of I didn’t know tips on how to work that tough.  It sounds type of bizarre, however I used to be skating by on potential and expertise, and he helped me get to a special commonplace.  He is an ideal steadiness.  He understands vaulting and simplifies it in a manner that I can perceive it.  If I’m getting emotional, he makes it very matter-of-fact and retains the emotion out of it.  The final yr has been a battle for each of us.  He had by no means seen that model of me – I had by no means been a model of myself.  He was very affected person with me all year long, and I give him nice credit score for that.  I wouldn’t have identified tips on how to deal with myself!  He offers me all of the technical issues that I would like.  After I get a little bit labored up, emotional, and anxious – I are typically a really anxious particular person – he’s good at being that voice of cause, telling me that I’m going a little bit overboard.  Like, ‘step again, you might be good’”.

Lastly, I needed to ask her the way it feels to be an Olympic champion and a World champion.  I believe she appreciated the query! “Fairly superb.  I really feel that profitable the Olympics was the dream come true and the cherry on prime of a reasonably phenomenal season for me.  After which to again it up, having the previous yr once I actually struggled the place I used to be questioning ‘can I actually maintain doing this…Am I actually that good? Or did I simply have a very nice yr?’ 

💚PERCHE F
Katie MOON 🇱🇷à Liévin.
🥇Championne Olympique à Tokyo 2021
🥇Championne du Monde à Eugene 2022#WorldIndoorTour #gold ✨ pic.twitter.com/loQCfiPoir

— Assembly Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais (@Meeting_Lievin) January 3, 2023

Quite a lot of doubts can come into your thoughts.  After which to go and win the World Championship, particularly off a brief method.  I really feel that it boosted my confidence in a manner that may by no means be taken away from me.  Generally once you win a giant meet, you may assume you simply acquired fortunate.  However I do know I did the work and earned it – identical to everybody else.  And if another person had gained the day, they might have earned it.  It simply seems like I now have the arrogance that maybe I ought to at all times have had in my skill.  However I’m so fast to imagine the dangerous days and the dangerous practices, however I don’t assume I’m alone in that”.

Having simply acquired married on the finish of December, Katie is having a break in early January earlier than opening her season at Millrose.

Company- Ultimate efficiency
Mr & Mrs. Moon. (He’s British) pic.twitter.com/WgGUgyJ3i2

— Karen Locke🥑 (@klocke1) December 31, 2022