David Wise: Why staying grounded means everything to me
As the only man in history to have won the Olympic ski halfpipe gold medal, the American freestyle skier is used to negotiating expectation. Ahead of Beijing 2022 the two-time gold medallist talks mental health strategies, meditation and why he's focusing on himself.
Freestyle Skiing
Pressure in sports is a powerful thing and there is perhaps no athlete that has such a unique relationship with the feeling than American freestyle skier David Wise.
The 31-year-old from Reno, Nevada is not just the two-time reigning Olympic halfpipe ski champion from Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018. He is the only men’s Olympic gold medallist in the sport’s history, owing to the fact the sport made its debut at the Winter Games in Russia seven years ago.
There is too, the astonishing way in which he defended his title. Wise held his nerve and overcame two wipe-outs to clinch the gold on this third and final attempt on the pipe in South Korea.
Speaking at the Team USA Media Summit about the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the American talked about how he navigates the minefields of anticipation and pressure.
For the upcoming Games he is focusing solely on him: “Going into my third Olympics, I’m getting a lot of questions about “Oh, what’s going to be mean to you, to potentially win your third goal medal?” Or “How much pressure do you feel to win again?’
“The reality for me is, I’m still in a state in my career where I’m trying to find what the limits are and, it’s not necessarily about comparing myself to my peers and my competitors. It’s more about what can I do with the body I was given and how far can I take this."
By electing to make his skiing his priority, rather than the rest of the field, Wise believes he takes on an edge. Backed by two Olympic medals, the Team USA athlete’s campaign in China's capital will not be about verifying his worth an athlete, but instead about relishing the chance to do what he does best:
“The nice thing for me in my career now is that I don’t have anything left that I need to prove whether we’re talking about proving to other people or proving even to myself. Even if I had to quit skiing tomorrow competitively, I wouldn’t feel like I was dissatisfied.
“I’ve had an amazing career to this point and now looking forward I really am just trying to embrace the opportunity that I’ve been given. I could have quit after the last Olympics if I wanted to, but I still had that hunger. I still had that fire to go out there and see what else I could do on skis.”
David Wise: Freestyle and free-spirited
When it comes to cancelling out the chatter that invariably follows him, the four-time X Games gold medallist has several tools he uses to reign himself in:
“It’s really important during crazy times of your life like we’re about to have, just to remain grounded. For me I feel like my faith is a big part of what grounds me, constantly reading the good work, spending time in prayer, meditation, having that solitude away from all the distractions and all the noise, is really huge."
In moments of calm the skier finds that he is able to trace back his motivations and connect with the reasons why he takes to the snow in the first place:
“It’s important to take time and have solitude and remind yourself why you’re out there and that we’re out there to enjoy the body that we’ve been given and do the best we absolutely can.”
Even when trying to switch off Wise’s Olympic achievements are never far from his thoughts and for the skier recognising that fact and understanding what his medals mean to him enables him to lift the burden of expectation:
“One thing that I constantly reflect on, on this topic, is the fact that both of the gold medals I’ve already won… seem unreal to me.
“I don’t look back on those days and hype myself up, and say, “I just went out there and crushed it and that’s mine and I earned it. I really have this overwhelming sense of gratitude that actually happened that way, and I’m kind of surprised. I think that helps me not to feel pressured when I look at it that way.”
As for any athlete that struggles with pressure Wise has his own advice advice. The key to safeguarding your mental health is to have a support network that values you beyond just your achievements:
“I think that one of the most vital things for any athlete is to surround yourself with people who care about who you are, not what you do.
“Most of the close friendships that I have now are all people who love me for who I am not what I’ve done on a pair on skis, that’s a huge part of mental health. I’m going to spend as much time as I can with the family and just enjoy the ride.”
The men’s halfpipe competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will run from February 17 to February 19. To find the full schedule for the Games click here.