Congrats, You Won the Olympics. Now What?
How To! with Mike Pesca
Peach Fish Projects
4.3 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 20 July 2021
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Winning the Olympics is everything Steve Mesler ever wanted. So when he and his U.S. bobsled teammates stood atop the podium at the 2010 Vancouver Games, his life seemed golden in every way. But soon after his triumph, Steve began to experience a period of extended mourning. Even though he won a gold medal, he lost his identity and sense of purpose. And he wasn't the only one. On this episode of How To!, the former Olympian, co-founder of Classroom Champions, and current United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee board member talks about the complicated aftermath of achieving an all-consuming pursuit. He discusses his struggles with depression, losing teammates to suicide and what the USOPC is doing to destigmatize mental health treatment.
If you liked this episode, check out: "How To Be a Badass On and Off the Court."
Do you have an Olympic-sized problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone, I'm Susie Weiss, and I've noticed there's just simply not enough podcasts in the world. So I'm launching my own. Let's go. Let's go, baby. Second Thought is a weekly show about pop culture. The stuff everyone's been binging, arguing about, obsessing over. Here's the thing about heated rivalry. I mean, even the most devoted swifties, I think we can agree, not our best work. We'll be hosting thoughtful conversations with culture's most important figures. Talk about genius. |
| 0:22.6 | Talk about generational talent. |
| 0:23.7 | Coming to headphones near you on can agree not our best work. We'll be hosting thoughtful conversations with culture's most important |
| 0:21.1 | figures. Talk about genius. Talk about generational talent. Coming to headphones near you on April 17th, |
| 0:25.9 | with a first guess you won't want to miss. Available wherever you get your podcasts. I had spent |
| 0:31.1 | my entire life focusing on this one thing, and now this one thing was gone. I mean, I accomplished |
| 0:36.3 | it, but regardless, this one thing is gone. I mean, I accomplished it, but regardless, this one thing is gone. |
| 0:39.3 | Now what am I going to do? |
| 0:42.3 | Welcome to how to. I'm science writer David Epstein. |
| 0:46.3 | It's 2021 and the long-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics are finally at hand. |
| 0:51.3 | If you're like me, it doesn't matter if it's trampoline or track and |
| 0:54.8 | field, the Olympics are must-see TV for the feats of strength, endurance, and mental fortitude under |
| 1:00.5 | pressure. Seriously, the hair on my arm stands up when I see an athlete cross the finish line |
| 1:05.3 | and start to realize what they've just achieved. Where else in life can you see in real time |
| 1:09.8 | such a pure moment of accomplishment and |
| 1:11.8 | joy? And then, if they're on top of the podium, they're on top of the world. But what does it |
| 1:17.6 | actually feel like to win gold? My name is Steve Messler. I am the 2010 Olympic gold medalist |
| 1:23.9 | in the sport of four men bobsled. The first time I met Steve was before the 2010 |
| 1:28.6 | Olympics in Vancouver at a media event. Steve and his teammates were throwing pens at one another |
| 1:32.9 | across the room, and I thought, well, these guys seem like fun. So then I paid them a visit in Lake |
| 1:37.6 | Placid to write about them for Sports Illustrated. Steve and I later became really close friends. |
| 1:42.8 | I had my first bobsled trip when I was writing about you guys, and you jerks didn't tell me to put my head down in the sled. |
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