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Master the Art: Team GB athletes on perseverance and achieving your goals

Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown
Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown

Lacking in motivation is something we can all identify with to some degree or another, but there are few who quite understand the power of perseverance more than Team GB's Olympic athletes. With the 2020 Paralympic Games now underway in Tokyo, we caught up with five of Britain's most inspiring female athletes, to find out the secret to their incredible success.

"Gaining back motivation once you've lost it is really difficult," trampolinist Bryony Page, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo earlier this year, tells us. "If you feel like it's not going well in training, it can be demotivating. But, for me, I love my sport, and I'm really excited about trying to push my own boundaries and compete against the top in the world. So the motivation comes completely from within."

Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown
Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown

For synchronised swimmers Izzy Thorpe and Kate Shortman, the motivation to succeed comes from working together. "We only have each other in training, so we need to help each other push to get to that next level," explains Thorpe. "I think that's why we've come this far." Shortman adds: "A lot of elite athletes lack motivation sometimes, and that's normal. You just have to push through it as much as you can every day."

Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown
Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown

Wheelchair basketball players Charlotte Moore and Kayla Bell know a thing or two about overcoming adversity to reach their goals, and are aiming for gold in this year's Paralympics.

"Personally I like to set smaller goals; achievable things that you can do, so you can tick things off on the way to achieving the bigger end goal," says Moore. "I think that's so important to keep that motivation. Being part of a team sport really does help to keep you focused and give you that drive to be the best that you can be."

Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown
Photo credit: Rachel Louise Brown

Bell adds that having strong mental discipline helps, "especially in day-to-day life away from the basketball court when you need to stay disciplined". She continues: "It is something you learn and develop as you play sport longer. It becomes easier to focus on your mental discipline. It helps to remind yourself why you're doing something."

Watch our video above in which the five athletes discuss everything from identifying your goals to keeping focused and avoiding negative comparisons.

Portraits by Rachel Louise Brown

Video by Eleonora Cristin


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