Coco Gauff, on How Olympic Track and Field Inspired Her and Gave Her Vision

Posted by Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday August 9, 2024

Coco Gauff he would have liked to stick to the Paris Olympics for a while, but the American used most of the time he had in the games, and returned to the US with a new perspective on his career.

Speaking to reporters after her 6-2, 6-2 win over Wang Yafan on Thursday at the National Bank Open in Toronto (she’ll face Diana Shnaider on Friday in the round of 16), Gauff talked about connecting with multiple singles. and Team USA’s field stars, as well as his athletic affiliations.

“It gives me a lot of motivation,” Gauff said when asked if being around elite athletes like Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gave him strength. “Seeing Sydney (who won the 400-meter hurdles, then Tara (Davis-Woodhall), winning the long jump, then, Gabby Thomas winning the 200 (meter), and Sha’Carri (Richardson) winning the silver , so are many people I’ve talked to.”

Gauff, the current World No.2 and 2023 US Open champion, says their performance inspires him, and helps him realize that his senior years as an elite athlete may be ahead of him.

“It’s really inspiring, just to see how they’ve all gone through their own downs in their careers and been able to get through it, and each of them face different mental and physical challenges.

“And it also sets the perspective, of my age. Most of them are between 24 and 27 [age] distance, so I think it puts you in the right place.”

Gauff says that conversations with athletes have helped him to trust his process.

“You want things to happen now,” he said. “I think I just learned to trust my training and trust the journey, just by talking to them and learning about their stories. Sometimes when you do well when you’re young you just want everything to happen now. They all sometimes do well when they’re young, because they’re so beautiful, but I’ve just learned to trust the journey and trust the maturity and [know that] your game will reach its final form in a few years.”

Gauff, who is very fast on the court, spent time running track and field, and sometimes wonders how well he would have done if he had chosen that sport instead of tennis.

“I don’t know if I’m as good as I am in tennis on the track, but I feel that if I would have trained I would have been an Olympian,” he said. “Track is the only sport I can say, because I did well in middle school, I never practiced, I never went to a single track practice, and I won all but two of my races, and they were both competitive. a girl and she was in 8th grade.”

Gauff, whose mother ran at Florida State, pictures herself running the 400, but not the hurdles.

“Noah Lyles said he saw me as a 400 player, but I’m scared [hurdles]so, yeah, i don’t think i would be. But certainly 400 or so would be my thing. ”