Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze Medalist in Cross Country skiing for the USA

Brett Hawke is a former competitive swimmer and coach. He represented Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics and won 7 international medals. As an Auburn Tigers swimmer, he earned 17 All-American honors and 9 NCAA titles. After his pro swimming career, he became an Assistant Coach at Auburn University. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he guided Cesar Cielo to victory in the Men's 50 Freestyle. Cesar's gold medal swim was the first in Brazil's history.  At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Brett helped guide Bruno Fratus to a Bronze medal in the Men's 50 Free. Today, Brett hosts the #1 swimming podcast in the world, “Inside with Brett Hawke” where he interviews some of the world’s highest performing swimmers (and humans). He is also the Head of Creator Acquisition at AnyQuestion!

How did your first Olympic experience go and what did you learn?

So my first Olympic experience was in Sochi Russia and the 2014 games. It was wonderful. I came in with very little pressure, very little eyes on me. And consequently, I didn't feel a big weight on my chest. I just got to go out and try to do my very best. And so I learned a lot about how the Olympics works. I learned a lot of the whole hurry-up-and-wait game, lot of standing in lines, a lot of credential tracking. It's honestly kind of like going to Disney World. It's super cool. Cool. And it's fun but you will be in a lot of lines and you'll have your ID checked and you need to not lose certain things while you're there and so it was really great. I had one race that surpassed my expectations. It was amazing. I think I got 8th in the sky, a flan and it, it tied, the best distance distance results for us. Women of all time at that time in cross-country, skiing. And then I had a race that went really poorly and I overheated in the 30k and I had to dump like six bottles of water over. I had during a race on snow which was wild. So I learned a lot about heat management and how the game is worked and it was a super valuable experience for me.

My first Olympic experience in Sochi Russia was very enjoyable. I learned a lot about how the Olympics works, such as having to go through credential tracking and standing in lines. I also had one race that exceeded my expectations and another that went poorly due to heat management. It was a valuable experience overall.

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What was it like racing in the Olympics after having food poisoning the day before?

What was it like racing in the Olympics after having food poisoning the day before? That was honestly terrible. My body was in a really awful place. I felt super super drained. I wasn't really sure I would make it to the start line the morning before because I felt like going for a 20 minute jog. I felt like the wind was going to knock me down but I was able to rehydrate and refuel and make sure I got as much simple carbohydrates into my body. As I could and then I kind of took it really chill in the warm-up. I had, I tried to expend the least amount of energy possible in order to be ready for the race to give myself my best chance. And I honestly went into it with the mindset of, you know, I have nothing to lose here. I'm racing for me because I love it. Not because I have to and not because there's all this pressure on me, but I'm just here to see what I can do. And so, I just kept thinking one step at a time. You know. I'm just going to make it up this hill. This actually, How do I ski as efficiently as possible and conserve and then this section? And so, even when I found myself racing alone, because I went after johaug when she broke away from the pack, which may or may not have been a good decision by me, because I ended up alone and freezing temperatures, and high winds, and a body with very low energy. But I think it was the power of the Mind. Honestly, that kept me going because I was just really motivated to make to that finish line. And I just stayed in the here and now and even when my body started cramping, I wasn't worried. Oh what does that mean for me? 10K from now. It's well right now. I can still get up this hill right now. I can still move one foot in front of the other. So I'll keep doing that until I can't.

Racing in the Olympics after food poisoning was difficult, but I was able to stay focused on the task at hand and push through it with a positive attitude.

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How long after you won the silver medal 🥈 did it take for you to be able to talk with your parents, sister and Wade? 

So how long did it take? After I won the silver medal to get to talk to you, my family and husband not that long probably 10 to 12 minutes because because I had had food poisoning 30 hours before the start, I collapsed at the Finish Line. I was not in a good place. I basically got carried out to a warming Hut where the other medalists were and I had my teammate. Julia Kern, our team media Guy, Tom Horrocks, and one of our PTS Susana Rogers were all there. Taking care of me. Like stripping my boots off, putting warm socks on my feet. You know, like here here's of this morn, warm sport drink so they really took care of me. And then Tom face times, I think he facetimed Wade, and they were all together at the watch party out, in Park City Utah. And so, I got to see all of them and say I'm okay. Like I really tired but I promise I'm okay. Like my body's gonna bounce back from this so that was very, very special.

It took around 10-12 minutes after winning the silver medal to talk to my family, husband, and teammates. I had food poisoning 30 hours before the start and collapsed at the finish line. My teammates and other medalists took care of me and then Tom face timed Wade and the watch party in Park City Utah so that I could see them and let them know I was okay.

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Jessie shares memorable tales from her Olympic experience.

Olympic Stories: Jessie Diggins & XC Skiing

Jessie Diggins

How did your first Olympic experience go and what did you learn?

What was it like racing in the Olympics after having food poisoning the day before?

How long after you won the silver medal 🥈 did it take for you to be able to talk with your parents, sister and Wade?