Adam Peaty and other Olympians who've overcome their fears
- Published
Adam Peaty has just won an Olympic gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke and broken his own world record. Not bad for someone who was afraid of water when he was younger! Poor Adam was so afraid that he sometimes even stood up in the bath. Luckily he overcame his fear and became Team GB’s first medal winner of Rio 2016.
Spanish tennis Olympian Rafael Nadal has many fears, but it’s his fear of storms and thunder that have helped him improve his game. When he was younger, his coach and uncle, Toni, would tell Nadal that if he didn’t play to the best of his ability, the thunder gods would punish him! Looks like it worked as Nadal is now one of the best players in the world.
You might think that a phobia of water wouldn’t affect an Olympic basketball player, but for US athlete Jimmy Butler, his phobia has caused him problems at Rio 2016. The US men’s basketball team are staying on a luxury yacht for the Rio Games. Jimmy’s so afraid of water that he’s had to ask if he can have a room that doesn’t face the water - he doesn’t want to be able to see it out of his window!
Not only has Canadian Olympic skier Aleisha Cline managed to overcome her fear of heights, she actually uses it to help her do better in her sport. She’s said that being afraid of heights makes her want to get off the hill as soon as possible, so she skis even faster.
Adam Peaty isn’t the only one to have suffered from a water phobia. US swimmer Michael Phelps is known as the most decorated Olympian of all time, having won a whopping 23 medals, but would you believe that he was scared to put his face in the water when he was younger?
It seems that swimmers with a fear of water aren't that unusual. But for Rebecca Adlington, it’s not the pool that scares her, it’s the sea. She says she doesn't like not knowing what’s underneath her. And she doesn’t like fish either because they remind her of the sea!
- Published27 July 2016
- Published4 May 2016
- Published5 August 2016
- Published5 August 2016
