Coco Gauff: How Olympic Athletics Inspired Her and Gave Her Perspective

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday, August 9, 2024

Coco Gauff Although he would have liked to have stayed longer in Paris, the American athlete made the most of his time at the Olympics and returned to the United States with a new perspective on his career.

Speaking to reporters after her 6-2, 6-2 win over Wang Yafan at the Toronto National Bank Open on Thursday (she faces Diana Schneider in the round of 16 on Friday), Gauff talked about her interactions with many of Team USA’s track and field stars and her love of sprinting.

Asked if being around elite runners like Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone inspired her, Gauff said: “It inspires me a lot. “Watching Sydney (who won the 400m hurdles) and Tara (Davis-Woodhall) win the long jump, watching Gabby Thomas win the 200m and Sha’Carri (Richardson) get silver, there were so many people I could talk to.”

Gauff, currently ranked world No. 2 and the 2023 US Open champion, said the pair’s match was inspiring and helped her realize that her prime as an elite player was indeed within reach.

“Just seeing how they each went through their own downturns in their careers was definitely inspiring and I was able to find that, and each of them was going through different mental and physical struggles.

“And it also puts my age into perspective. Many of them are between 24 and 27. [age] “The scope is so broad that I think we need to change our perspective.”

Gauff says talking to players helped him gain confidence in his process.

“You want it to happen right now,” she said. “I think I just learned to trust my training and trust the journey, and just by talking to them and learning their stories. Sometimes when you’re young and doing well, you just want it to happen right now. They all did well at some point when they were young, just because they’re so great, but I learned to trust the journey and trust the maturity. [know that] “Your game will reach its final form in a few years.”

Gauff, who is incredibly fast on the court, has also competed in track and field, and sometimes wonders how much better she might have been had she chosen track and field instead of tennis.

“I don’t know if I would have been as good on track as I was on tennis, but I feel very strongly that I could have been an Olympian if I had trained,” she said. “Track is the only sport I can say that about. I was good in middle school, didn’t train at all, never went to track practice, and won every meet except two, both times against the same girl, who was in eighth grade.”

Goff, the son of a Florida state track and field athlete, says he imagines himself running the 400 meters, but not the hurdles.

“Noah Lyles said he sees me as a 400m hurdler, but I’m a little scared. [hurdles]So, yeah, I don’t think that’s possible. But definitely anything over 400 would be my taste.”