Can I be an Olympian?

Olympian2020

I am a 5ft 8, 10st 2lb, 22 year old female.
Ive been watching the olympics and feeling inspired... i want to go.
I have a theory that if I trained for 4 years at a sport I could get to the tokyo 2020 olympics.
I would consider myself to be quite athletic and relatively fit. Since school ive done athletics, tennis, golf, cheerleading, volleyball and ultimate frisbee at various times in my life.
I know I would have to pour my heart and soul into this, but I am willing to. I want to be a 2020 Olympian.
I need some help... what sport will be most possible for me to compete in?
Thanks

Reply 1

Drewski

19

Original post by Olympian2020

I am a 5ft 8, 10st 2lb, 22 year old female.
Ive been watching the olympics and feeling inspired... i want to go.
I have a theory that if I trained for 4 years at a sport I could get to the tokyo 2020 olympics.
I would consider myself to be quite athletic and relatively fit. Since school ive done athletics, tennis, golf, cheerleading, volleyball and ultimate frisbee at various times in my life.
I know I would have to pour my heart and soul into this, but I am willing to. I want to be a 2020 Olympian.
I need some help... what sport will be most possible for me to compete in?
Thanks

Go to the BBC sports website, they've got a "be inspired" site about getting into sports.

In fairness though, you'd have to at/near the standard in less than 3 years to be able to be in the competitions in the year before so that you can be selected.

But it's also important that you pick something that you like, otherwise you wouldn't have the motivation for all the training it'll take.

Reply 2

!!mentor!!

11

Check out this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpjigCffIX8

If this guy can become an athlete, then so can you.

Reply 3

shawn_o1

21

well if you're still in that stage where you're unsure of which sport you're good at, you'll have to decide quickly. 4 years is a long time to not only train but also gain competitive experience.

Reply 4

Doones

21

Original post by Olympian2020

I am a 5ft 8, 10st 2lb, 22 year old female.
Ive been watching the olympics and feeling inspired... i want to go.
I have a theory that if I trained for 4 years at a sport I could get to the tokyo 2020 olympics.
I would consider myself to be quite athletic and relatively fit. Since school ive done athletics, tennis, golf, cheerleading, volleyball and ultimate frisbee at various times in my life.
I know I would have to pour my heart and soul into this, but I am willing to. I want to be a 2020 Olympian.
I need some help... what sport will be most possible for me to compete in?
Thanks

Of your sports your best chance is probably either golf or volleyball. eg If you are already a scratch handicap golfer then dedication and luck could get you selected. But you'd need to do well at tour qualifying events first.

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Reply 5

user 42005

18

I honestly doubt you'd be able to make it in just 4 years time, as others have said you'd have to compete in qualification tournaments beforehand so your timescale is even shorter. Most Olympians have been training since before their age was in double figures, so you'd have some missed time to catch up on. You could perhaps aim for the 2024 or 2028 Olympics, obviously depending on how skilled you already are at your chosen event. You'd have to begin training immediately though. Wish you the best of luck :smile:

Reply 6

username1661963

12

Archery, shooting, table tennis, golf (maybe)?

Probably your best bets if you have good hand-eye coordination, as it doesn't need massive amounts of strength or speed which I doubt you'd be able to get to Olympic standard in 3 years.

No chance.

10 000 hours is a reasonable gauge - many olympians clock much more than that - but if you have a sport you are already quite a high level at , then maybe - but 4 years is probably quite tight

Reply 9

cookie123456789

4

Of course you can!! All it takes is motivation and dedication. 4 years is plenty if you commit to the sport and work hard at it.

Go for it! I hope to see you at Tokyo 2020!

Reply 10

Gorillion

2

No, you can't.

You're 22. Most Olympians have been training n their field since they were children.

Reply 11

Blackstarr

20

I wanted to be an athlete once but now, i don't think i can run from my house to the bus stop.

Anyway, having faith in yourself is the way to go.

You also need a training coach and all that

Reply 12

CheeseIsVeg

22

Original post by Olympian2020

I am a 5ft 8, 10st 2lb, 22 year old female.
Ive been watching the olympics and feeling inspired... i want to go.
I have a theory that if I trained for 4 years at a sport I could get to the tokyo 2020 olympics.
I would consider myself to be quite athletic and relatively fit. Since school ive done athletics, tennis, golf, cheerleading, volleyball and ultimate frisbee at various times in my life.
I know I would have to pour my heart and soul into this, but I am willing to. I want to be a 2020 Olympian.
I need some help... what sport will be most possible for me to compete in?
Thanks

pls go for it! Follow your dream!Make sure you choose the right sport though, the one that you enjoy/are best at performing well competitiveley and I really wish you all the best! :smile:

Spoiler

Reply 13

Drewski

19

Original post by Gorillion

No, you can't.

You're 22. Most Olympians have been training n their field since they were children.

And some of them only took it up a couple of years ago. Others are in their 40s and 50s.

A girl who works in my department took up sport after London, at a similar age to the OP now. She'll be in Rio to compete in the Paralympics in a fortnight.

Reply 14

TheMouseyS

11

Unfortunately, pretty much all Olympians, especially GB Olympians, were born into their sport or started from an extremely young age. Physical strength is one thing, but the technique that is required in the vast majority of Olympic sports takes a lifetime of commitment to develop.

But that doesn't mean you can't get into a sport at 22, still a fairly young age, and compete at a very high level

Reply 15

venetiaan

12

There was a girl in the Greek rowing team ( double skull I think) that won the fourth place. She is 19 and has been training for 3 years. She did swimming before that. So I guess it could happen if you really want it..

You can do anything if you believe it 👍🏼

Reply 18

markova21

21

Are you being serious? Athletes at the highest level are the same as Professional Dancers [I was one] or professional footballers or other top athletes. The training takes around ten years and usually starts around the age of 6,7,8 or 9. By the time they are in their early teens most , if they are serious are training all day Saturday [for around 6 hours] and around four or five evenings a week for around three hours a night. All holidays spent at summer training schools, intensives, private coaching,etc. And even then there are so many hundreds and hundreds of young people all doing exactly the same thing to that level of intensity there is no guarantee of success. Very few make it. If you are already 22 years of age you should be just about now be coming to the peak of your career, not just starting out. Unless you were outstandingly gifted and had natural ability. But people like that are incredibly incredibly rare. I trained in Classical Ballet for eight and a half years from the age of nine. Many others started at six. By the time they were eleven 24 children [12 boys and 12 girls] were at the Royal Ballet School . Over 3,000 children audition each year for one of those 24 places. IF they are truly brilliant they will make it all the way through their 8 years of training at the Royal Ballet School. Usually about 10 make it through to the final year. Of those 10 maybe 3 or 4 are accepted into the Royal Ballet Company. Then most of them will never get out of the Corps De Ballet [the chorus]. Being an Olympic Athlete is equivalent to dancing for the Royal Ballet or a Premier League club.

Reply 19

Drewski

19

Original post by markova21

Are you being serious? Athletes at the highest level are the same as Professional Dancers [I was one] or professional footballers or other top athletes. The training takes around ten years and usually starts around the age of 6,7,8 or 9. By the time they are in their early teens most , if they are serious are training all day Saturday [for around 6 hours] and around four or five evenings a week for around three hours a night. All holidays spent at summer training schools, intensives, private coaching,etc. And even then there are so many hundreds and hundreds of young people all doing exactly the same thing to that level of intensity there is no guarantee of success. Very few make it. If you are already 22 years of age you should be just about now be coming to the peak of your career, not just starting out. Unless you were outstandingly gifted and had natural ability. But people like that are incredibly incredibly rare. I trained in Classical Ballet for eight and a half years from the age of nine. Many others started at six. By the time they were eleven 24 children [12 boys and 12 girls] were at the Royal Ballet School . Over 3,000 children audition each year for one of those 24 places. IF they are truly brilliant they will make it all the way through their 8 years of training at the Royal Ballet School. Usually about 10 make it through to the final year. Of those 10 maybe 3 or 4 are accepted into the Royal Ballet Company. Then most of them will never get out of the Corps De Ballet [the chorus]. Being an Olympic Athlete is equivalent to dancing for the Royal Ballet or a Premier League club.

That's bull.

Ok, might be accurate for dancing, but is by no means accurate for the insane array of differing sports that you get in the Olympic programme.

Most professional sports people don't hit their peak physically until the 26-31 range, and that's only for the sports that require massive physical exertion. Ok, we can probably rule out athletics, gymnastics, swimming, etc, but there are 28 sports in the Olympics and those are only 3 of them.

There are a number of people in the GB squad who only got into their sports after London 2012 so to say it's impossible is utter balls.

Hard? Sure.
Unlikely? Sure.
Impossible? No.

Can I be an Olympian?

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