The Life of Olympic Athlete Essay Example

📌Category: Athletes, Sports
📌Words: 1251
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 18 June 2021

Track and field is something I do on a day to day basis. Track is a highly serious yet fun sport once one would obtain the gist of the sport. As an athlete one's body is put through rigorous activities and for a majority of the time training one will not enjoy. All the training that seems unnecessary is helpful to each and every single athlete. For some, the training and practice are serious. It's a way out, a different way of life, a way to help family and friends stuck in tough situations. For me it's a reality, and my dream is to become a track Olympic athlete to help my friends and family.

To become a track Olympic athlete,one need to train in a professional setting, understand the rules of track and field, and be able to maintain their health and body. Becoming an athlete is not just waking up one day and just doing it, it takes time. A large number of athletes started playing their sports at a young age. Over this time period the players' skills become more developed and they learn the game better. When a player reaches the high school level their understanding of the game is proficient and will start receiving college offers. While a college diploma is an important feature in life its not required for an athlete ("Athlete”).  Athletes also are not required to receive schooling for a licencing but they do must obtain a physical every year which tests overall health and fitness level. If an athlete fails their physical for some reason that would be a major obstacle for them ("Athlete”). If an athlete is injured, they can be injured to the point where they are ineligible to return to their sport. Usually to prevent injuries athletes have an acceptable practice facility to install perfect form and techniques so an athlete does not hurt them self.

The Olympic committee has several locations for practicing, they have one in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lake Placid, New York, Miami, Florida, and several places all around the United States("Track And Field" Team). But to be able to attend one of the training locations you need to be a part of Team USA. Team USA is the professional team that represents the United States of America at the Olympics and pro track meets. In this environment an athlete should be extremely coachable and they cannot break down when a coach is talking to them. They must also be determined and passionate about what they do. If an athlete is not passionate about what they are doing, then they will never finish any work or finish a drill in practice and will never improve to win at a track meet (“Athlete”).

Working as a track and field Olympian requires hard work, ability to travel, and dedication. As a track star one would have an immensely large amount of responsibilities and duties to attend to. Some of the variety of duties an athlete must attend to be maintaining equipment health, reviewing film,taking instruction from the coach and going to practice. An athlete goes to practice almost everyday and if there is no practice an athlete must still do some sort of workout to build up stamina and athleticism. There is never a true set and stone schedule for an athlete, this means they can practice mornings, nights,evening, weekends, and even holidays. Usually with all this practice and time spent training equals up to forty hours a week(“Athlete”). When athletes do attend the practice the facility they train in is specially fitted to their sport needs.

The can train indoors or outdoors depending on the weather and what they are doing that day in practice. When they are practicing they are on a rubber track with two sandpits parallel to each other. There would also be an area for throwing sports like javelin in the middle and discus and shot put placed near one of the far sides of the field. When an athlete is not in the practice facility for a meet they are traveling either the states or the world going to track meets. An athlete can travel to another town an hour away or they can travel to places like Poland and Sweden("Track And Field." USATF).

Even though an athlete does all this training only select runners can make millions. Fifty percent of track athletes in the United States made less than fifteen-thousand dollars.The top ten made higher that fifty-thousand dollars(Cespedes). There are some ways for an athlete to make over  fifty-thousand and make millions. If an athlete is in the top five per-say an athlete can receive an endorsement which is when an athlete advertises a company and makes money for it(“Athlete”). In two thousand and twelve Usain Bolt mad twenty million three hundred thousand dollars and the twenty million came from endorsements(Cespedes). But conditions can always change. If an athlete obtains an injury companies might want to pull their endorsement and that can change their duties. An injury would also mean an athlete must change their workouts and workout schedule.

Going back in time track and field was not as well known as it was today. The first Olympic track was believed to be held in Greece during seven hundred seventy-six BC. There was only 1 event ;a six hundred feet long foot race. Now there are twenty four events for men and twenty three for women. Although track and field in the United States dates back to the eighteen-sixties("Track And Field." The History).According to the Next College Student Athlete “The Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America, the nation’s first national athletic group, held the first collegiate races in 1873, and in 1888 the Amateur Athletic Union held its first championships”. Ever since then track and field has been blowing up.

Track and field is becoming one of the biggest sports and played worldwide. While track and field is so large there will always be issues everywhere. One issue that will always be in every athletes mind would be overcoming the odds that come with being an athlete. When becoming an athlete gets hard and people want to doubt an athlete that can bring an someone down thinking they are unable to finish their dream. If an athlete is able to fight that and stay strong on his path he can overcome the odds of being an athlete and can do a lot(“Future”). Another issue an athlete would have is injury prevention. If teams and athletic trainers can figure out a way to help prevent injuries athletes could feel safe and they will not have to worry about their spots on the team(“Athlete”)

To finish my thoughts, after researching what it takes to become an Olympic athlete, I still want to become one. I would like to continue to pursue this dream because this is something that I have wanted to do as a kid. I want to show everyone who said it's impossible and that I can't do it wrong and that they were wrong about me. An Olympic athlete is something that will take a lengthy amount of time, dedication, and hard work. I would like to attend Texas Tech for a full 4 year athletic scholarship.  After I attend Texas Tech I will attempt to run for Team USA and compete in the next time trials for the Olympics team. 

Works Cited

"Athlete." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 Feb. 2019. Web.

14 Mar. 2019.

Cespedes, Andrea. "Track And Field." SportsRec. N.p., 01 Feb. 2019. Web. 26 Mar. 2019.

"Future Issues." Sports Management Degree Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2019.

Gregory, Sean. “Justin Gatlin Track and Field | USA.” Time, vol. 188, no. 6, Aug. 2016, pp.

50–52. EBSCOhost. Web. 21 Mar. 2019.

“Track and Field.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1; EBSCOhost,

Web. 21 Mar. 2019.

"Track And Field." The History Of Track And Field. Where Running Started. N.p., n.d. Web. 21

Mar. 2019.

"Track And Field." Team USA. N.p., 2019. Web. 25 Mar. 2019.

"Track And Field." USATF Masters. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2019.

 

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