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Former Olympian Connor Fields knows the highs and lows of chasing a dream: setting a goal, coming close to achieving it and falling short. However, his journey is unlike any other.
Fields is the only athlete in Olympic history to win a gold medal and nearly die while competing.
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On Thursday, Fields shared his remarkable story with the Inman Connect New York audience during his session “Unstoppable: Building Resilience in the Face of Adversity,” exploring the critical question, “Now what?”
Connor Fields
“You’re going to hear the story that led to me having that unique claim to fame, the moments that left me with that question, and how I was able to answer it and move forward each time,” Fields said. “You’ll leave with four answers and four strategies that you can put to use immediately to increase resilience, grit and, ultimately, help you achieve your goals.”
In 1999, at just seven years old, Fields took up BMX racing to channel his excess energy. From that moment, he knew he wanted to dedicate his life to the sport. Watching BMX make its Olympic debut in 2008 further fueled his ambition, especially after the U.S. competitors failed to bring home a gold medal.
Determined to reach the Olympics, Fields transformed his parents’ garage into a gym, where he looked to posters of BMX pros for motivation. Most memorably, he wrote on the garage wall, “I will win World Champion and one day be Olympic champion.”
Setting a goal — whether it seems achievable or not — requires “surrounding yourself with people who support that goal. But the thing that goes hand in hand with that, [which] isn’t talked about nearly as often, is putting yourself in proper situations that will help you to achieve that goal,” Fields emphasized.
Achieving goals is not aided by indulgences such as eating cheeseburgers or having drinks. Every decision impacts performance, and those indulgences impact energy.
So back to the big question, “Now what?” Fields asked the audience.
Connor Fields (Photo by AJ Canaria Creative Services)
For four years, Fields shaped his life around qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Games. He entered the Olympic final as the number one seed and the favorite to win.
However, he faltered under the pressure, placing seventh out of eight. “I completely blew it. I choked in front of millions of people,” Fields said. In the face of disappointment, he asked himself, “Now what?”
Self-reflection is crucial, and standing before a mirror and acknowledging personal shortcomings can be challenging, but it’s essential for growth.
Fields hired a sports psychologist and spent the next four years preparing mentally for another shot at Olympic gold.
Fast forward to Rio 2016, and Fields made it back to the Olympic final. This time, he was ready.
“I had the best start of my life, but I was beat to the first corner by one other rider,” he said as he painted the picture for his ICNY audience. “I realized who it was — the other American. So I am now faced with the absolute hardest decision that you could be faced with in this moment; I’m sitting in silver medal position with my teammate, my friend, my roommate, in the gold medal position. What do you do?”
Fields chose to attack, “I didn’t make every decision in my life for the last eight years to make this decision to settle, even if settling meant an Olympic silver medal.” He passed his teammate, took the lead and crossed the finish line as an Olympic champion.
Modern day Olympic gold medals are over 90 percent silver with a coating of just six grams of gold, Fields said. He believes this symbolizes the unseen struggles behind victory — dedication, sacrifices and perseverance.
After winning the gold medal, the question once again became “Now what?”
The next five years brought new challenges, including the pandemic, the first Olympic postponement and uncertainty. Despite it all, Fields made it to race day at the Tokyo Olympics as the favorite.
He won his quarter-final and semifinal. Then, tragedy struck. “I woke up alone in a hospital bed, scared, confused, with no idea what was going on,” Fields said.
Onstage behind Fields, a news report appeared on the screen, announcing the devastating crash. “Breaking news now out of Tokyo tonight, where one of our Las Vegas Olympians is seriously hurt on the BMX track.” Fields was knocked unconscious, stretchered off and rushed to the hospital.
“I suffered one of the worst accidents in the history of the Olympic Games: broken ribs, collapsed lung, torn ligaments in my shoulder, worn bicep and the big one, a traumatic brain injury,” he said.
Fields’ concern was whether he would survive. Once he stabilized, the next concern was whether he would remember who he was. Just days before, his biggest fear had been finishing fourth. Now, he faced the battle of his life.
Now what?
The 18-month-long rehabilitation process began during which Fields began relearning balance, speech and driving. With an incredible support system, he made a miraculous recovery.
“It shouldn’t take a near-death experience to put that type of perspective back into your life,” he told the audience. It’s important to set goals and to go after achievements … but when you do come up short, find yourself looking in the mirror, or, in the event that you catastrophically fail, don’t ever lose perspective.”
Fields left the ICNY audience with four takeaways:
- When you set your goal, write it down.
- Force yourself to take a hard look in the mirror, identify your weakness and attack it.
- Celebrate success.
- Remember that prior success does not guarantee future success, and, in the event that you catastrophically fail, keep things in perspective.
“Then, after you leave Inman, with all of these new skills and tools that you have learned and these new connections that you have made, there’s only one question left: Now what?” he concluded.