In what was her first Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022, Kristen Santos-Griswold thought she was heading for a medal as she approached the ultimate lap of the 1000m brief monitor remaining.
If something, the American was positioning herself for a shot on the gold medal earlier than her hopes have been shortly extinguished after being worn out by a competitor.
The consequence was so “heartbreaking” for Santos-Griswold that she severely contemplated strolling away from the game solely.
“It made me feel like I was a failure, like I let myself down, I let my family down, I let the country down,” she informed NCS Sports as she ready for one other shot at Olympic glory this 12 months.
“The downside with that’s, with brief monitor, there may be a lot out of your management, and being the strongest doesn’t imply that you simply’re going to go on the market and win. Being the quickest doesn’tmean that you’re going to on the market win.
“There’s race tactics, there’s other people, what they’re doing, how they’re moving, the ice conditions, like all of this stuff kind of gets wrapped into a bow.”
Now, Santos-Griswold goes into her second Games with a more healthy perspective and stronger mentality.
“I think this Games is going to be a totally different ball game. I’m going to have my family there, which is really exciting, something that I definitely missed in Beijing,” she added.
“And I think while I’m out there alone on the ice skating, they’re all kind of a part of that. They’re all there with me. So if I’m on the podium, they’re on the podium.”