Name: The Olympic Dream Hustle | The Business of Elite Athletes
Uploaded: 2025-11-10T18:07:18.000Z
Duration: 19 min 40 s
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Gerund

Getting out date always makes it feel, like, really real and like, oh, right, we're going to the Olympics, like, we're getting our kit.

To-infinitive

Just really cool seeing that and being like, I'm really proud to be part of Team GB and, like, wear this kit.

This is the outfitting of the Olympic team.

It's an interesting and important moment for us because this is the first time that athletes step into our environment, they step into Team GB's environment.

We take seven or eight people through an hour.

Plenty of time for them to try on the kit, make sure they look good in it, they feel good in it, that they're comfortable in it.

It's like a moment of reflection as well.

To say, like, congratulations, you've made it, you've earned this kit.

The purpose of it really is quite simple, and

that's to make them feel very confident about what we're providing for them, in particular, the competition way.

So they feel very confident going out of here.

They feel excited, they feel comfortable that they're part of Team gb.

I want to lap it up, wave to the crowd, blow kisses to my boyfriend or something, and

This is Izzy Thorpe, a Team G artistic swimmer and part of the Paris 2024 duet.

And this is Kate Shulman, the other half of the team GB Paris 2024 artistic swimming duet.

Underwater, we're always counting the music.

So when the music's on, we've got to be counting every beat so that we're in sync.

We can hold our breath for about three minutes to three and a half minutes, but

then, yeah, in a routine, we wouldn't hold our breath for more than 30 seconds because you have to think you're, like, physically exerting yourself so much.

We do two routines, a free routine and a technical routine.

For this swim, we're probably underwater for, like, a minute, 50 seconds.

So we're holding our breath for that much time during the whole routine whilst being very out of breath and then trying to make it look nice as well, has always been on the cards.

They had certain buzz about them when they were really young.

So we have known each other for a very long time, probably.

So we met when we were like, five, maybe, and

then, yeah, just been swimming together ever since, really.

I didn't really realize how good I was at the sport.

We always wanted to be each other when we were younger.

I don't know if it's the same for you, but I never really thought about anything else.

I feel like you still don't realize how good you are.

It's easy for them to get completely absorbed and swamped in what we're doing here, but

I also need to make sure that they're not overthinking their performance all the time.

They're just thinking about what they need to do when we're here and then having a bit of downtime when they're away from here.

These are incredible elite sportsmen and women who are doing exceptional things that the general public don't really see for the bulk of the four year cycle because these sports don't gather that much attention during the cycle.

And then suddenly they're thrust front and center for the big occasion.

And you learn their backstories and you realize that they are incredibly relatable.

They're like you and I, they're like the everyday people.

I am a two time European gold medalist, World Youth championship medalist, Olympic bronze medalist, and

I am a professional athlete for Great Britain.

I compete in the 100, 200 meters as well as the 4 by 100 meter relay.

I literally just wanted to be like my sister.

She just so happened to be doing athletics at the time.

And I was just going to all of her competitions, watching her win and think, wow, like, this is amazing.

It's a sport that you're spending a lot of it dealing with having to assess how to get better, how to turn up to races, how to take defeats, how to problem solve, how to stay in the game mentally.

And it's one of those sports that you can't rely on your teammates to pull you out of trouble.

The race that really made me think that I could turn this into a career was in 2011.

It was the World Youth Championships in France.

I got to the final of the 200 meters and I just remember kind of blacking out in the first maybe half of the race.

I'm getting closer to the line and no one's still got me.

And then eventually crossing the line, it was like, oh my gosh, I won.

That was like the deciding moment of, okay, now what's next?

If there's a career that I can, you know, continue to do this, then I'm going to do it.

Junior had a real rapid progression into international athletics.

Did exceptionally well, won a real medal in 2016 and then went through quite a difficult period, 2017 into 18, into 19.

She's just got what it takes just to be a winner.

My family have been so involved in my athletics, especially early on.

It just even started from, you know, saying to them that I want to be a sprinter.

I think I even had like a spirit speech prepared in my head just in case they were like, oh no, try something else.

But especially for my mum and my dad, it was just like, okay, what equipment do you need?

I've been going to her races since she was 11.

So you always have the nerves and the butterflies.

The moment they line up and then the gun goes off, your stomach's churning, you're nervous with her.

What really impressed me about Des when I wasn't coaching her was the fact that she reached quite high heights early on and then they had to deal with some setbacks.

Like many athletes know, injuries isn't just a physical thing.

It's just a factual thing of if you can't perform and run well, I'm sorry, but

And I think that's like a very difficult time, not just for myself, but

many athletes, because then you start questioning your identity.

The current funding system works very well if you are funded.

If you're not on funding, then it can really feel like a two tier structure.

Either you're inside or you're stuck on the outside.

UK sport have tried to change how they've gone about things.

UK sport is relatively young in organisation terms, around 30 years or so.

There will never be enough money to go around.

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The Olympic Dream Hustle | The Business of Elite Athletes

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