Right now as I write this post there are athletes all over the world preparing for the Olympic games in Rio. I can?t help but wonder how many will be victimized by that fatal disease called the Olympic year syndrome. That syndrome is defined by doing more work, adding training sessions, changing technique, adopting new technologies, changing coaches and moving to a new training situation all in pursuit of that elusive goal of the Olympic games. Think about it ? does this make sense? I have seen this every Olympic year for forty plus years. Lest we forget that training is cumulative from year to year. The Olympic year is the time to reap what you have sown the previous three years. You can?t make up for work not done, but you can undo the positive benefit of the previous three years by trying to do more. I think of the quadrennial cycle as two years of preparation, one year of adaption and the fourth year, the Olympic as a year of application. The Olympic year is a year for refinement and fine-tuning, not drastic changes. I maintain that more medals are lost in Olympic years than are won. Be confident in your buildup and preparation. Remember the advice of the old cowboy ? Always dance the last dance with who brung you to the dance.
John Grace
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