- Sports. What became of Samantha Cerio, the gymnast who broke both legs in a viral injury?
- Sports. Michael Phelps: I thought about committing suicide, so now I want to save lives
Lindsey Vonn hates the cold. As if Michael Jordan had been sickened by the rubber of the ball or Lionel Messi couldn't stand the green of the pitch.
The skiing legend, who faces new challenges after her retirement, reviews in an interview with MARCA her career and discusses the future of the sport.
Question. You are sponsored by Under Armour, you have been a commentator at the Olympic Games, you are a member of Laureus, you are still doing challenges such as the night descent of The Streif... How is sport helping your life after retirement?
Answer. Sport has always been a part of my life. I'm still active, I go to the gym, I watch a lot of sport.... Sport is a part of my DNA, I will always be a sportsman.
Q. How does an elite athlete prepare for retirement? What advice would you give to an athlete who is close to making that decision?
A. For me it was a pretty obvious decision, I had too many injuries at the end of my career, it was quite logical that I had to make the decision. But I think for any athlete it's the hardest decision of their life, because unlike other jobs, once you retire you can't go back. It's hard to make that decision and process it.
Q. And what advice would you have liked to have had before retiring?
A. I asked a lot of different athletes what their life was like after retirement, but each one told me something different. I think it's a very personal thing. But I know it's a challenge for everyone, to realise that it's time to stop. When you are active you feel you have a goal, you work very hard and then one day it's over. There is a moment of transition - I think it took me about a year and a half - to discover what your passion is now. It's important to direct your energy towards something new.
Q. Your career was very successful, much more than normal. In fact, the normal thing in sport is not to win. Do you give more credit to those victories now than when you were competing?
A. When you are competing and you win, you always think about the next race, the next victory. You never have time to stop and think about it, so definitely yes, I give a lot more credit to those wins now, when I look back. But I think that was the right mentality. When you're out there you have to stay focused, think about the next race, isolate yourself a little bit from everything around you. I'm very proud of my career.
Q. How did you feel on those days when you didn't win?
A. My mistakes have taught me more than my victories, on those days when I didn't win, although even when I did, I always took away a lesson. It's what you said before, in sport it's normal not to win and on those days you ask yourself 'why did I lose, why wasn't I faster, why did I fall' and you discover that you have to work hard to improve. That's something very important in life. It's also life.
Q. I imagine that the days when I couldn't compete due to injury would be much worse...
A. The worst days of my career have been the ones when I couldn't compete because I was injured. I needed it like air, I needed sport to live like air, it's what gives me energy. Being injured was very hard. I had two consecutive cruciate ligament tears. I was out for a long time and it was a very hard time.
Q. As well as physically, how does an elite athlete recover mentally after being out of competition for so long?
A. It helps me a lot to feel physically strong. If my body is good, my head is good. So, when I came back from injuries, I took my time to make sure that I was well enough, that I was fully recovered - so I could fully believe in myself when I came back to racing. Sometimes people are afraid of falling, or of not being as strong as they were before the injury. I trained very hard to feel that I was OK so that I could trust myself.
Q. We had the example of Simone Biles in Tokyo, giving up competing to take care of her mental health. Is it easier to talk about it now than it was a few years ago?
A. It's much more common to talk about mental health now, definitely. It used to be something that nobody wanted to talk about, they said 'that's not for me', it was taboo. And I think with Simone, with Naomi Osaka, with Michael Phelps.... I didn't use to talk about it myself and now people are starting to pay attention to it, especially because of what Simone did. It was an important decision and I think the other athletes saw it, especially the young ones, the ones in high school... it was very important.
Q. What are the challenges for sport in the future? How can we leave a better future for sport?
A. We have to give more opportunities to young people, help them, teach them to take care of their mental health, their physical health. It is very important that young people have opportunities, because sport offers a great platform to grow. Sport can teach them important life lessons.
Q. One of those challenges must be to improve conditions for women athletes. How can we create a safe space for women in sport?
A. It's very difficult, I think it's not just something to talk about in the world of sport, it's something global. People who have power take advantage of people who don't have power. A clear example of that dynamic is what women in sport suffer a lot of times, especially when there is a male coach with power and a younger female athlete. I think we can create a better environment in which female athletes can complain, but for something to be done. That they are heard, not like in the past.