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How does mental toughness affect sports performance or exercise behaviour? essay
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Allyson Felix, is an American runner, 7 time Olympic medalist and most decorated woman in U.S. track and field history. She has definitely made her mark in the world of athletics. As you will see, that as a determined runner and dedicated Christian, Felix is an inspiring influence to all. Felix was born on November 18, 1985 in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Paul Felix, was an ordained minister. Allyson Felix’s mother, Marlean Felix, was an elementary school teacher. Her older brother, Wes Felix, was a sprinter. Wes, who is three years older than Felix, inspired her to start running (thefamouspeople.com). Interestingly, when Felix was a child, she was already noted as athletically gifted. She started playing basketball, but also had an …show more content…
Later, in 2005, Felix became the youngest champion to compete in the Tack and Field World Championships. Just two years later, Felix became the second female ever to win three track and field gold medals at a single World Championship (biography.com). Although Allyson Felix began her successful athletic career very early in life, she did not let that get in the way of her faith. Felix became a Christian as a young girl and was raised in a Christian family (biography.com). Felix comments, “Track doesn’t define me. My faith defines me. I’m running because I have been blessed with a gift.” She also remarks, “When I run my prayer is not to win. My desire is that no matter the outcome of my race, that I glorify God with the talent He has blessed me with. I pray that my integrity and character are always a representation of my Saviour” …show more content…
The injury was so bad, Felix had to be carried off the track. She was then forced to stay away from running for several months before making a comeback at a league meet in 2014. Felix’s strong motivation to try hard may be the key to her success. Felix shares, “I always want to give more than I gave yesterday”. (azquotes.com) Typical of Felix’s strong desire to work hard, Felix trained extremely hard to gain back her stamina. Her dedication paid off as she proceeded to win the 2014 IAAF Diamond League 200 meter title. Likewise, at the 2015 World Athletic Championships, Felix triumphed with gold in the 400m, and silver in 4x100m and 4x400m relay (thefamouspeople.com). Remarkably, Felix shared afterwards, “I try to think about my goals. I think about my competitors-I know they're working hard, and if they are, I have to work hard too. I have to be one step ahead of them”
The athlete I chose is Natasha Watley. She is a professional softball player and the first African-American female to play on the USA softball team in the Olympics. She’s a former collegiate 4-time First Team All-American who played for the UCLA Bruins, the USA Softball Women’s National Team, and for the USSSA Pride. She helped the Bruins will multiple championships and also holds numerous records and one of the few players to bat at least .400 with 300 hits, 200 runs, and 100 stolen bases. She’s also the career hits leader in the National Pro Fast pitch. She won the gold medal in the 2004 summer Olympics and a silver in the Beijing Olympics. She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Gabby Douglas was the first African-American female gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual All-Around champion. In the 2012 Olympic Games, she won gold in the team competition and the individual competition. She is a gymnastics phenom. From the beginning of her career to where she is today, she has been a true trooper through everything. Gabrielle Douglas is an inspiration to me and many others because she overcame being homeless,moved in with a new family, and won Olympic gold in gymnastics.
Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona to immigrant parents. As a child, Cesar helped work on the farm by bringing water back to his and feeding animals. His parents believed school was very crucial for Cesar. As a kid he did not understand English so in school it was very hard
Florence Griffith Joyner was born December 21, 1959, in Los Angeles, CA. Known as the World's Fastest Woman for her standing World Record times in the 100 and 200 meter events, Florence Griffith Joyner, elevated women's track to a new level with her three gold and one silver medal-winning performances in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. Growing up in Los Angeles, Joyner's career was launched in 1964, at age five, when Joyner's father challenged her to catch a jack rabbit, the fastest creature on the sand of the Mojave Desert. She was determined to meet the goal and she did.
Susan B. Anthony was born on a farm in Adams, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1820 (Sochen). Daniel Anthony was her dad. He was a cotton-mill owner. When Susan was old enough she would go work for him after school. Lucy Anthony was her mom (American Eras). The Anthony family were Quakers. Quakers are people that believe
- winning the first ultra I ran, a 6:10 50 miler in my hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
African Americans entered the world of sports in the early 1900s when the first African American Olympian became a gold medal, Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera. He won a gold medal in rugby (Bosanac). Not only did the early 1900s open the door for African Americans, but women would also begin to infiltrate into sports as well. Women would be allowed to play in the Olympics; however, they were only allowed to play golf, tennis, and croquet. Only 19 women qualifiers made it through to the first Olympics with women participants (Bosanac). Before Althea Gibson, Margaret Ives Abbott was the first to win the singles tournament for tennis, foreshadowing Althea Gibson’s legacy to come (Schwartz). “She also won gold the 1900 Olympic games in golf just like Althea soo...
Fitzgerald was born on September 28th 1896 into an upper middle class family living in Saint Paul Minnesota. His mother and father Mollie and Edward Fitzgerald named him after his second cousin three times removed Francis Scott Key the author of the star spangled banner. His mother previously had two children Mary and Louise who unfortunately passed away before he was born from illnesses at the ages of one and three. Mollie Fitzgerald became pregnant once more after that but lost the baby an hour after birth. However in 1901 Scott’s Sister Annabel was born completing the family.
Who discovered America? The common answer to this question would most likely be Christopher Columbus. However, many explorers and adventurers came to America before Columbus. Viking Leif Ericsson was one of these explorers. Ericsson visited, and may have even discovered, the land that became America on one of his many adventures away from his native Greenland. The life, discoveries, and legacy of Leif Erikson are an important piece of history that not many are familiar with.
...on to the track are unfortunate. Being a former Boston Marathon winner Mr. Burfoot must be an expert on running, that being said, having a sister with an amputation and winning a marathon does not make you an expert on amputation running.
Jesse Owens, who was born in the southern state of Alabama, was a frail African American boy. Owens parents made the courageous decision when he was nine years old to move north in hopes to find a positive atmosphere for their family. Owens was never involved in sports because of his size, until his middle school coach recruited and trained him to be a member of the track team. Owens practiced until he got it right and made his way through multiple track events during his high school career.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1897 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His father, Edward Fitzgerald was a distinguished lawyer, Fitzgerald’s mother, Mary McQuillan, was left with the inheritance of a million-dollar grocery business after her parents’ death (Philips, 1).
Throughout history, women have had to struggle for equality in all elements of our society, but no where have they had a more difficult time than in the area of athletics. Sports is a right of passage that has always been grafted to boys and men. The time has come for our society to accept women athletes and give them the attention they deserve.
Overall, the differences between what male athletes and female athletes must do in order to become successful is vastly distinct. A woman must be able to cope with receiving a lower salary than a man, expose herself to public eye in order earn time in the spotlight, and conform to society’s traditionalistic ideals of feministic traits to live up to the standards of a female athlete. Will people ever be able to see past these discriminatory stereotypes? Everyone needs to face the fact that women are capable of so much more than what society expects them to be, sees them to be, and pays them to be. It is time that female athletes are noticed for their genuine talents and not for any unnecessary opinions.
Silver, Michael, and Natalie Coughlin. Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America's Olympic Champion. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2006. Print.