Tianna Bartoletta Brings Insightful Approach To Sprinting, Long Jumping
As Tianna Bartoletta loaded into the blocks for the start of the USATF Indoor Championship 60 meter dash final earlier this month, her game face made it apparent she was bringing a level of mental preparedness she had not evidenced in earlier sprint races this indoor season. Aided by a text-book start she has been refining under the watchful eye of IMG’s Loren Seagrave, the multiple-time global medalist swiftly and smoothly powered into her drive phase and halfway into the race the outcome was clear: Bartoletta would successfully defend her indoor sprint title with her first victory of the season. “I was discouraged about the indoor season all the way until we got to nationals. My start was probably the difference maker there. But there is some behind-the-scenes stuff that has to happen for me to be able to do that in the first 30 meters of the race.”
Bartoletta has made a career out of detecting and resolving issues as they have come up in her life – and especially in her track & field career. Her latest adjustment was addressing the champagne problem of knowing how to step out of the stress-free catered training environment of IMG Academy and channel her competitive drive in competitions. “I have noticed that I am not always geared up emotionally for the challenge, of the effort I need to expend for the race,” the reigning USATF 100m champion reveals. “Now my life is so stress-free, I have actually found it quite difficult to be able to tap into that kind of fire that I need to run in that kind of reckless way that I need to run. And I was only able to get to that point at indoor nationals when my 60m dash title was on the line. But I now know what that feels like and what I have to do to work up to that. So my season won’t be as inconsistent leading up to outdoor nationals.”
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