Mental approach changed, injuries healed, Brittney Reese eyes repeat
RIO DE JANIERO — The low point of Brittney Reese’s career came in 2013, when a torn hip labrum forced the three-time Olympian to undergo surgery and, one year after winning long-jump gold at the London Games, contemplate retirement.
Retirement didn’t come, but the worst wasn’t over: Reese, 29, rushed back from that surgery and struggled, leading her to further doubt her ability to maintain a medal-winning level in international competition.
“I feel like the hip injury really messed me up because I know what I’m capable of,” Reese said. “To see myself not make a podium, to see myself not make a final, to see myself not even jump 7 meters really put me in a bad position.
“I’m a competitor, and I like to win, so I was losing. That’s something that I didn’t like. It put me in a bad position where I thought I was going to retire.”
She knew her mental approach needed to be fine-tuned, so Reese reached out to a sports psychologist — a mental coach, essentially, one who could help Reese work out the kinks off the track as she regained her physical form.
“The past two years, I’ve grown from the injury and learned a lot,” she said. “From October to now, we worked on setting goals and just being more focused on the runway. I feel like that’s been the key to my success this season.”
Mental approach tweaked, physical form regained, Reese stands as the favorite in the long jump here at the Rio Games. If she repeats — qualifying rounds for the long jump begin Aug. 16 — Reese would be the only woman in the event’s history to claim back-to-back gold medals, and one of just two, joining Germany’s Heike Drechsler, to win two gold medals overall.
And her competition should take notice. For one, Reese is jumping at her best level since 2013: She jumped 7.22 meters (23 feet, 8 3/4 inches), the second-longest jump of her career, at the world indoor championships in March with a distance of 7.22 meters.
For another, a return to full health has Reese thinking big. I want to go “three for one,” Reese said — to win gold, set an Olympic record and set a world record.
“I know I’m capable of it,” she said. “I just need to have the right atmosphere, the right crowd, and do my part on my end. I think everything will happen.
“I don’t feel any pressure. I know what I’m capable of, so I know if I go out there and do what I’m supposed to do everything else will just fall into place.”
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