Keauna McLaughlin Gets Emotional

U.S. pairs skater Keauna McLaughlin is quoted in the Wall Street Journal in an article on keeping emotions in check. The author writes about handling major stressful moments, and he speaks with some Olympians (and Olympic hopefuls) for advice. Here is the section on McLaughlin:

Keauna McLaughlin, a 2010 Olympic hopeful who is a 17-year-old pairs figure skater from Los Angeles, was very open on this point with her fellow members of Team USA. "I'm still working on controlling my emotions in the biggest competitions," the two-time U.S. champion said. "I definitely need to concentrate better on what we're doing in the moment and the fact that we've practiced it countless times, rather than being distracted about what the judges might be thinking or on what doesn't happen if I don't stick the jump."

It must be very hard to keep all of the different emotions and thoughts in check while you're in the middle of the program. That's something almost all athletes have to work on.