Emily Seebohm Felt The Pressure In Rio, Not Sure About Tokyo

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Australia’s Emily Seebohm entered the Rio Olympics favored for gold in both backstroke events, but she came away with noindividual medals. In a column she penned for ESPN Australia, Seebohm admitted the pressure of the meet got to her.

“If I’m being honest, I think the pressure did get to me,” she wrote. “In the 100m backstroke final, I wanted it so badly and I put so much pressure on myself to take home gold. I just tried too hard. I overdid the race, whereas when I swim at my best, I’m confident and in control.”

The 24-year-old admits that she got away from her typical tactics in that final as she went out hard and paid the price. Leading at the halfway point, Seebohm fell all the way to seventh place. Her top time of the year (58.73) would have been good for a silver medal.

She ended up not even making the final in the 200 back, where she was the reigning World Champion. But she did rebound to help Australia pick up a silver medal in the women’s medley relay.

Seebohm is candid in the piece in noting that athletes might not spend enough time focusing on mental skills in training.

“I think it’s reasonable to suggest that it’s not always about who trains the hardest physically; it’s more about who’s got the mental strength to do it,” she wrote.

Even though the Australian team as a whole did not live up to expectations in Rio, Seebohm said the team spirit was excellent, especially compared to the disastrous performance in London in 2012. The Aussies won three gold and 10 total medals in Rio after winning just a single relay gold four years ago.

As for the future, Seebohm plans to continue competing for at least another two years (the Commonwealth Games are slated to be held in Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018), but she’s not ready to commit to swimming through the Tokyo Olympics, when she would be 28 years old.

“I’ve got plenty on to keep me busy and focused in the short-term, but I’m not 100 percent sure that I’ll get to the Tokyo Games in 2020. I’m committed for the next two years but from there I’ll see how I feel and how my body is feeling,” she wrote. “If I swam at Tokyo, that’d be 12 years in the sport; I’m not sure I’d be able to commit for another four just yet.

Read Seebohm’s full blog on ESPN Australia by clicking here.

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