Contributed by Sandy Johnson
GLASSHOUSE Christian College was privileged to have Olympian and world-record breaker Nicola Olyslagers as the guest speaker at its Primary and Secondary Sports Awards Presentations.
Nicola spoke about her dream to break the women’s 2-metre-high jump record when she was eight years old at Little Athletics.
She wasn’t always good at high jump but found a good coach who fostered her dream and told her not to be derailed by doubt.
Nicola’s coach told her that if she gave it her best for the next 10 years then he had no doubt she would achieve her goal of that 2-metre record.
In 2021, Nicola not only broke the world record but went onto to leap 2.01m in Stockholm and then 2.02m at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
The students found Nicola inspirational as she was honest about how hard the journey has been and talked about her early years of bullying for being so tall.
Nicola said that a typical year of an elite athlete meant being overseas for six months at a time and she had already been to 15 countries this year.
Primary sports teacher Joshua Bennett, asked Nicola how she kept her motivation for so long and asked how she handled doubt.
“Whenever I was discouraged, I would remember that God is with me so all I had to do was give it my best and leave the outcome to him,” Nicola replied.
“This meant that there was no stress in the lead-up to a competition.
“It’s okay to feel nervous because that is an emotion but stress is not good for athletes.”
Nicola also spoke about how she remains positive during hard times, whether they are sport related or personal.
“When something negative comes into my head, I block it and then turn it into a positive,” she said.
“For example, if they raise the bar and the negative thought comes that there is no way that I can reach that height, I block the thought and tell myself that I can just jump a little higher and try a little harder.”
Nicola also writes messages to her future self when she has a good training session or feels encouraged by someone or something.
She writes in a little notebook that she takes with her on her travels and then reads them back to herself when she feels discouraged or in doubt.
Nicola Olyslagers with (L-R) Estah, Jenna, Charli, Zali, Heidi, Sophie, Chloe, Edie, Skylah and Jade
