Inside the Mind of an Athlete
She stepped up to the starting line; a thousand thoughts running through her head. Looking side to side, she felt the nerves and fear creep to the front of her mind. With hands trembling, she placed her cold starting block down on the jet black track. The race was about to begin. “Ready… Set…,” said the official. Her skinny, tan legs were quaking so much that she could barely line her feet up. She pulled a deep breath of the cool spring air into her lungs. Just seconds later, the gun went off and a sense of excitement overtook her once nervous body. She bounded forward with great force. She was off!
Earlier on that April morning, Olivia packed her blue Bay Rockets track bag with all the essentials. A rain jacket was on the list just in case the predicted forecast came true. The pungent smell of dirty shoes and sweaty uniforms flowed from the overstuffed bag. Before leaving the house, Olivia was sure to throw her lucky pin in one of the tiny pockets lining the bag. She was somewhat superstitious and this lucky charm was something that she never left the house without.
Usually the bus rides to track meets were extremely rambunctious. All the athletes were screaming, laughing and blasting music, but today was a different story. The five students headed to the biggest meet of their life were so silent that a pin dropping would have been heard. A cold gust of wind came through the open window sending a chill down Olivia’s back. Her mind was running 100 different directions and she could not seem to slow all her thoughts down. Resting her red Beats on her head, Olivia turned on her pump up playlist. It was time to get in the zone and mentally prepare.
She slowly ran the entire race through her head; mapping out every turn and speed change throughout. Every possible scenario that could have gone wrong was replayed at a rapid pace in her mind. With all this commotion in her mind, Olivia seemed surprisingly calm. She had always been good at keeping a level head.
When the bus pulled into the ginormous, over-packed Jesse Owens Stadium at The Ohio State University, a large grin overtook her face. She could not believe it. She had made it to the big house.
The long blonde hair streaming from her head seemed to blow in the wind as she stepped off the bus. Looking around, the competition intimidated her, but she continued to listen to her music and block out the commotion around her. The race was about to begin and the last thing she needed to do was freak herself out. Olivia stepped up to the line and stretched out her limbs. With all the athletes in position, the loud gun blasted off a shivering sound and the runners began the dreaded 60 second race.
Coming off a fantastic start, Olivia rounded the first curve with amazing speed, but the thought of 300 meters remaining caused her to slow down. Knowing the strain this race could put on one’s body, she slowed her pace. Other competitors began to close the large gap that she had initially started with. When Olivia reached the halfway point she regained speed – all she had to do was finish. The bright, white ribbon marking the finish line seemed so close, yet so far away.
With all the fans cheering, Olivia still swears to this day that she could hear her parents screaming from the packed stands. “GO OLIVIA GO!”, her mom yelled. All the time spent at late practices and hard workouts was about to pay off. Shadows of her competition overtook her peripheral vision and her legs began to give out. Olivia lunged forward and her body fell through the white ribbon. She had done it! Olivia Bechtel was officially a state champion!
Being an athlete comes with tons of hard work, but most of all, an athlete needs dedication and drive. Olivia Bechtel had both of these things. She was a strong woman who knew what she wanted and did everything she had to do to get there. Cracking under pressure was something she avoided and health was a blessing she was given. In the end, this inspirational person, Olivia Bechtel, pulled off something that only few will and had a moment of total satisfaction that many of us will never feel. Olivia was offered a full track scholarship to Miami University the following fall. All of these things did not come easy. Olivia truly exemplified the word athlete in every way.