Yesterday morning, a group of high-profile athletes participating in the IAAF Diamond League visited the world-renowned Aspire Academy, where they shared their experiences throughout their respective athletics careers with the Academy’s management, coaches and 45 of its student-athletes in the presence of some of Qatar Athletics Federations (QAF) coaches as well as some Diamond League representatives.
Under the motto ‘Aspiring Greatness’, Aspire Academy in partnership with the Diamond League and the QAF welcomed US shot putter and 2016 world champion Michelle Carter, US hurdler and 2013 world champion David Oliver, and Canadian high jumper and 2015 world champion Derek Drouin on stage at the Academy’s auditorium.
Having all achieved great success in their careers, the visiting athletes emphasised the importance of patience and the ability to deal with disappointment, both of which need to be developed along with athletic ability.
“I finished second and third for a long time, but I did not quit. You have to be patient and work hard and some day it will pay off,” said Carter, reflecting on her gold medal in Portland in 2016.
“I started with athletics to hang out with my friends, who were doing it. I tried triple jump, but I was very bad at it,” Oliver remembers the start of his career. “But I did not give up, went into hurdling and had a lot of success with it. But dealing with failures is part of being an athlete.”
Drouin discussed his own strategy to deal with huge successes or disappointments. “After wins or failures it’s sometimes good to have a short term memory loss. That makes it easier to focus on the next competitions.”
There were many topics the student-athletes and their coaches wanted to know more about from the visiting athletes.
Asked about what qualities are required to be a successful world-class hurdler, Oliver said: “You have to take risks in any event in order to be successful. You have to be aggressive and accept that you will fall a lot.”
Being asked about the most significant person in her career, Carter chose her father, a former NFL player and silver medallist in the 1984 Olympics in shot put. “He is also my coach and having him behind me really helps me a lot. He always sees my potential and keeps pushing me to be the best. Sometimes they might hurt your feelings, but these people will help you to become better athletes.”
After the panel discussion, Carter, Oliver and Drouin were joined on stage by fellow Diamond League stars Kenyan middle-distance runner and Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop and Belgian discus thrower Philip Milanov.
Following that, Kiprop, Milanov, Drouin and Oliver conducted a one-hour coaching clinic at the Indoor Athletics Track with the Academy’s athletics student-athletes, where they presented some advice on success in athletics, as well as sharing their top tips for competition. During the session, the students also had the chance to take pictures with the official Diamond League trophy.
Director of Sports Markus Egger, Sports Science director Prof. Tim Cable and school principal Jassem al-Jaber thanked the guests on behalf of Aspire Academy for their visit.