Sam Willoughby: Olympic athletes interviewed. By Christian Bosse

Feb 16, 2019

Written by Bart de Jong

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Silver Medalist 2012 and Olympian 2016 Sam Willoughby reveals how he went from his worst moment of making a mistake in the Olympic final 2016 to an even worse moment of having an accident which was diagnosed of him forever being paralyzed. Sam outlines how he approached his BMX career and life, as well as.

• His darkest moment 00:00:58 • His best moment 00:04:00 • What advice would he give his younger self 00:05:35 • The habits that make him a successful person? 00:06:11 • His morning routine? • How he prepares for important 00:11:23 • How to overcome setbacks 00:13:11 • His role model 00:15:46 • The best advice he received, and who gave it to him 00:16:37 • How a typical training day looks 00:17:11 • Who he nominates to be interviewed 00:18:13 • Where can people find Sam Willoughby 00:18:36 Summary of the interview: Imagine being at the peak of your sporting career and looking to the future with great hope when all of a sudden that changes and you find yourself with a life-changing spinal injury. Most of us would probably give up all hope and dreams of a normal life. Fortunately, however, Sam Willoughby is not like most of us and the former BMX Supercross Rider is currently living a fulfilling life despite a life-altering injury. The 27-year-old Australian had always been an elite athlete with titles under his belt such as BMX Supercross Junior World Champion 2008 and 2009, Senior World Champion 2012 and 2014 and silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics. Sam also made it to Rio 2016 where he was dominating in his event for most of the day, but lost out in the Olympic finals. It was shortly after that on September 10, 2016 that he suffered a training crash that left him a quadriplegic. He was classified as a vegetable and doctors told family members that there was no hope for him. Sam was able to pull out of his vegetative state and is undergoing therapy with the hopes of walking again. He admits that he wouldn’t have been able to make the progress he has made without his support team; his family. His then fiancée, Alise Post, stuck with him throughout it all and assured Sam that nothing had changed for her. His family supported him and shielded him from the not-so-positive attitudes of the doctors. Sam was able to believe again and set goals for himself, one which was to stand at his wedding, which he managed to do. Reflecting on what helped him to be a successful athlete, Sam admits that he is keen on understanding the process in all he does. He breaks down the process and pays attention to the details, he documents and analyzes things step by step which has certainly contributed to his success on the track. He was internally driven as an athlete, which kept him motivated. He stated that being present at the moment, focusing on the task at hand rather than looking too far ahead contributed to his success on the track. Sam is still hopeful as he takes things one day at a time. He now coaches and mentors athletes including his wife, and he still has the respect of the athletes around him who are very much aware of what he has accomplished.