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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.147 |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Kyle Shewfelt Interview |
Scope & Content |
Kyle Shewfelt interview, 8 February 2011. Born digital MP4. Four videos with a total viewing time of 00:40:15. 1 of 4; 00:14Childhood: played hockey, Dad was a professional player, was a great skater but couldn't score, playing was more of a chore 01:10Athens 2004: biggest moment of pressure you could ever imagine; no Canadian had ever won a medal in artistic gymnastics, he had 2 Bronze medals from the World Championships the year before, had injury, so there were lots of questions as to was he able to do this 01:54Lot of external pressure, the floor and vault were his strongest events, the biggest amount of pressure came from himself, knew he was capable to winning, the reason he did so well was that he believed he did have a chance; athletes put the most on themselves 02:36Promise made to himself in '95: his loves to get his thoughts on paper, from a sport psychology paper put down his dreams and goals - to go the Olympics and win and make a name for Canadian gymnasts in the world 03:21On the floor routine in Athens: a perfect routine at a perfect moment, everything at the highest level of perfection that it could have been; for 16 years had planned to have his perfect performance at the Olympics in 2004 and it happened; everything went into that moment, putting that amount of focus into that routine 04:15Standing on the podium: didn't feel he was present, was immersed in the dream for so long he had a hard time separating the dream from reality, it occurred to him later that it was real 05:05On the vault: talks about the Shewfelt vault, did it first at the Canadians in 1999, was the first to perform it at the Olympics in 2004, one of his goal had been to have a skill named after him and leave a legacy to the sport 05:34Best/worst event: best was the floor, loved the opportunity to add artistic value and add his own personality, own charisma into the routine, add small details that get noticed; least was the pommel horse, his poorest event; have to focus on your strengths and perfect them 06:44On winning the Conacher Award: didn't fully understand the scope of it, everything was a whirlwind after his return, received many awards, now realizes it is huge, some of those people who have won it are his biggest heroes in sport and life 07:36On his determination: now that he is retired he is trying to reconnect to the passion and purpose he had; then he had a reason to get up, to push beyond the point of comfort; now struggles with that, why am I here, what impact will I make, knows he is capable to it, of making an impact and affecting other people and making them believe their dream can become real; connect to a new journey and make it a reality 08:29On being called the best Canadian gymnast: your wildest dream can come true 2 of 4; 00:24On childhood: started playing hockey from his Dad, learned to skate at age 2; was doing cartwheels at home so his Mom put him into gymnastics and it clicked 00:59Started in 1988 at age 6, went into recreational programme and coach noticed him 01:43Benchmarks: first competition he was different from everyone else, into details such as pointed toes and straight legs, his coach emphasized that, his coach helped him fall in love with gymnastics 00:15In 1991 saw his first gymnastic competition on TV, became obsessed with gymnastics, opened his eyes to what being the best in the world could be; Jennifer Wood from his club qualified for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, that inspired him, was in the gym everyday with her and she was his role model, to see a girl from his club qualify inspired him to believe he could do the same 02:13On being driven: he was self driven, had found his passion, it happened/evolved on its own, his Mom put him into gymnastics, was put into the place where everything was right - the right coach, place, team mates to drive the dream, every day more fuel added, more goals and dreams, so real, so raw, was part of him 04:05As a parent/coach today: the lesson is you can't force passion, it's just there, but what you can do is expose your child to a lot of different sports, the best things parents and coaches ever did was to support the dream, never pushed it, allowed it to unfold, always encouraged him, provided the tools to help him live a dream 05:46Point he knew he was going to the Olympics: was a progressive dream, knew at age 9 he was going to go and to win a medal, made a commitment to that, when things got hard had to be in pursuit of a dream; at 15 felt it could start to take form; at 18 qualified for Sydney Olympics, had a great performance but came in 12th, leading up was on the World Cup circuit and getting top 8 finishes, started to think then being in an Olympic final was possible, came back with more motivation than he ever had, was the final push for the next cycle, then won 2 World championships medals the year before the Olympics, really felt he had a shot, commitment to making the routine perfect 08:14Going into 2004 were there any cracks in the visualization: some fear and doubt, tried to fuel the part that he could, cancelled the thought of doubt with positive thinking 09:11Hard on self: knew his potential, for him not reaching that was a loud sense of disappointment within himself, every day he pushed to go as far as he possibly could 09:55Pressure of no one else had won a medal: someone needed to be the first, the thought energized him, liked being the first, a pioneer, creating a legacy, those were the things that motivated him; created momentum; believes in setting goals that are huge and seemingly impossible because that's how you get to the next level 11:28Discipline to set goals: had a great support team, an amazing coach who balanced him, worked with a sport psychologist, he was a perfectionist who set high standards and like being in control and to set plans 13:15On goal setting: #1 on the list of why he was successful; making plans and holding himself accountable to those plans and reflecting on what went well, what didn't go well, helped him to stay focused, when goals are written down so you can revisit them that keeps you on track 13:55Most proud of: being able to deliver the best routines of his life in the moments that mattered the most; able to step in pressure situations and deliver 15:05On the Gold medal: epitome of his career and driving him forward from that point, opened a lot of doors and opportunity, biggest thing was reaching his ultimate potential 4 of 4; 00:01Talks about his injuries that happened 11 months before Beijing 00:40Despite the injuries retirement was not an option, he needed to think of the things he could do; an awakening moment for himself as an athlete and as a person, had got caught up in the external stuff, had a new sense of passion and purpose and huge confidence to give it everything, did not want to end his career on that note, needed to try, a great feeling as an athlete 02:06On Beijing: competition doesn't stand out as much as the 11 months of preparation for it, process of getting ready for the games was the biggest learning curve of his career as an athlete, opened his eyes to the power of positive thinking, happiness is a choice, chose to have a positive attitude, celebration of small victories and the importance of every single day, there were so many obstacles he had to focus on what he could do that day, to move one step forward; competing was a huge victory, disappointed did not win a medal, had believed his had a shot, had been upping his level of performance against the standard, did have a personal victory, he exceeded his potential 04:46Comparison of Athens to Beijing: had an ankle injury before Athens, that as similar to 2008, took his mind off winning and into training and being prepared, 2008 lesson - sport is not about being the best, sport is about being your best; has perspective now, the pursuit of winning and excellence is more important than the medal, going out and doing your absolute best ; Beijing was a blessing, has taken him to a new level of understanding what importance is, not just the external victory and getting that reward and medal, it's about going out there and committing to excellence and doing your very best 06:51You are not a failure if you don't win a medal, you are a winner if you have the guts to go and say you are going to try and win a medal because at the end of the day there is only one Gold medal and not everybody can get it, just means you did not get a Gold medal but may still have been amazing 07:51On being a role model: huge honour and privilege to be considered a role model; hopes that he shows the next generation that their biggest, most audacious dream can come true; being yourself, authentic and committing to excellence are very valuable characteristics to have, keeps him wanting to create a legacy and affecting people in a positive way 09:57What he learned from sport: his career taught him his greatest dream could come true, found his passion; anything that you want and you have that dream and that purpose if you work on it every single day it can become a reality 11:38As an athlete came up with key words/phrases to push to the next level, kept him focused, centered, balanced and motivated; his motto "make it happen", gave him a focal point, all about how you can be present and make it happen |
Date |
2011/02/08 |
People |
Shewfelt, Kyle |
Search Terms |
Kyle Shewfelt Interview Artistic Gymnastics Gymnastics 2004 Olympic Games Athens World Championships 2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester 2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2000 Olympic Games Sydney 2008 Olympic Games Beijing |