Three-time Australian BMX Freestyle champion Natalya Diehm is one tough rider. She became one of Australia’s first BMX freestyle Olympians at Tokyo 2020, where she placed fifth just two weeks removed from rupturing her ACL, after already enduring four knee reconstructions. Now 26, Diehm has established herself as one the world’s best in her sport, and having qualified for her second Olympics in Paris, she has her sights set on gold.
An athlete with a story like Diehm’s needs a great deal of mental toughness to continue overcoming obstacles and performing at their best. That’s why the Olympics are prioritising protecting athletes’ mental health, with the Paris 2024 Olympic Village set to contain an Athlete 365 Mind Zone, a first-of-its-kind space designed to help athletes relax, recharge and mentally prepare for competitions. In this space, Olympians like Diehm can talk with mental health professionals from the IOC Safe Sport team; jump in a ‘disconnection pod’ for a virtual reality mindfulness experience, or even practise gratitude writing to help focus on the positive influences in their life.
Here, Diehm takes Women’s Health though how she strengthens her mental fortitude to deal with Olympic-level pressure, why she likes to keep competition fun no matter the circumstances, and her go-to outfit for feeling powerful.
On her competition mindset:
You definitely have to have a positive mindset. I talk to myself in the mirror out loud in the morning: ‘You’ve got this Nat, you’re going to have a good day, you’re going to ride well, you’re gonna be happy’. Then during the run it’s, ‘One thing at a time’ – you think about what you’re doing, and then the next thing and then the next thing.
On how to handle pressure:
In our sport, with every trick we do, we’re always at risk of falling off or making a mistake – so it’s always just ‘focus on the task at hand, one by one, just follow your process’.
On keeping competition fun:
I love riding my bike, so getting to showcase that to the world is amazing. I used to hate competitions but I’m actually learning to love feeling the pressure and being proud of what I present. I keep it fun by remembering why I do it – I just love the sport. I’ve been doing it since I was eight years old.
On dealing with stress:
I remind myself [that] I do this stuff [riding BMX] every day, and if I just trust in my ability, that brings me back down a little. Sometimes I go and distract myself with my teammates or my coach.
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On facing her bike after a string of injuries:
The love I have for the sport and riding my bike has pushed me through. Recovery from ACLs is long and there’s no way you can speed it up, so it is definitely tough mentally and it takes a little to get over the fear of injury. But once I’m having fun, I don’t think about it. Sometimes I get in that fear state [when] trying a new trick … but everyone gets that, regardless of injury. And I genuinely have such a passion for the sport, and I want to leave it in a better place [when I retire], pushing it to grow and getting women in it.
On placing 5th at Tokyo, just two weeks after rupturing her ACL:
It was tough to do my ACL for the fifth time, and then miss out on the podium spot because of it. I flew back to Australia and had two weeks of quarantine [during COVID] by myself, upset about the result, upset about my knee [and] not sure what was next. Was I even going to be able to ride my bike again? Since Tokyo I’ve had four surgeries – it’s definitely [been] tough.
On social media:
I do my own social media – and I actually find that it helps take my mind off everything. I love to make funny videos and put a smile on people’s faces. So I’ll be asking funny questions and filming and then I’ll edit it and then put it on social media. It’s crazy how different everyone is, they’ll switch off so they don’t see anything, whereas I’m going to go on there to take my mind off it until I need to get into the zone.
On her favourite piece of clothing:
It’s hard to go past activewear, right?
On her go-to power outfit to feel invincible:
At events we have to wear Australian jerseys and that’s a power in itself – you get to represent your country. Not everyone gets to put on the Australian jersey and represent the country. Outside of sport, it’s not often that I dress up quite girly but when I do and I put some make-up on, I feel powerful.
On her morning routine on competition day in Paris:
My morning routine’s always the same – I like to keep to what I do at home so it feels as normal as possible. Wake up, check social media, message my partner or whoever it is, brush my teeth, get dressed, draw my eyebrows on, go to breakfast and then head to the event about an hour and a half earlier, so that I can walk around. Then I listen to music or make funny videos, slowly warm-up, put my pads on and it’s go time!
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will screen live and free on the 9Network and 9Now
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