“Wanted Normal Olympic Experience” -Eyeing Paris, Emily Sisson Reveals the Pressure She Faced in Marathon Trials Despite It Being Her Second Olympics

The 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trial has given us some moments to reminisce about in the future. The dreams of amateurs, professionals, new moms, and pregnant runners reached a full circle wrap on February 3, 2024. Every marathoner had one goal in mind, to punch their Paris Olympic team ticket. But only a few could make it to the roster, among whom, the second finisher of the women’s team, Emily Sisson, deserves a special mention.

Emily Sisson, the North American record holder in the marathon, is fresh off the success that sated her in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Interestingly, she had nabbed the pole position at the Olympic Trials that year. But the athletes who already make a mark on the global platform, tend to lose it on account of extreme pressure. Getting caught up in this was an option for Sisson, but she remained unaffected.

Emily Sisson sheds light on ‘all or nothing black and white’

As a guest in the CITIUS MAG podcast with Chris Chavez, Sisson spoke about utilizing every opportunity to ‘savor the moments’. Already 32, her Olympic dreams may come to an end at any moment, probably in the wake of her retirement. But before that, she pledged not to let any external force bother her. When Chavez asked, “You already have that Olympic title to your name. So how do you describe the pressure that you felt?” In response, Sisson said, “So all or nothing black and white, you make the team or you don’t… I actually didn’t think it was gonna happen… I also wanted a little bit more of a normal Olympic experience…I think when you take a step back and If you kind of break it down. That’s probably the best way that I can handle something that carries a lot of pressure with it”. 

Taking each step mindfully, Sisson had narrowed down the goals in her head to go one by one from the start. She never thought she could make it, but always felt like hanging a little more. She also added, “One of the things I was proud of from how I handled it”. But what kept her motivated throughout?

Getting inspiration from Deena Kastor is the way to go for Sisson

The book “Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory,” by her fellow long-distance runner Kastor has moved Sisson. Around 8 miles, she was on the verge of calling it quits with her dreams. But looking at Kastor, she had a flash of everything the former had mentioned in her book.

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Sporting a positive mindset and overlooking the negative thoughts that may creep in has helped the Olympian to steer the run. “What would Dina do? And that’s like kinda when I snapped into action”, said the Paris hopeful. It’s safe to say that Kastor is the light of her life.

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