It's Time

I’ve just wrapped up my final block of preparations, and am back home in Vancouver for a couple days before I leave for Miami. 

It is crazy to realize that the last ten years of training towards my 2020 Olympic dream will be defined within the space of the next three months. 

First, I will compete at the World Cup in Miami, which is the last chance to qualify Canada for an Olympic spot. Following that, I will compete at the World Championship in Melbourne in February, and the Princess Sofia regatta in Spain at the end of March. Assuming we succeeded in qualifying the country in Miami, the top Canadian over those following two regattas would then qualify themselves for the Olympics. 

Almost exactly a year ago, I competed in the Pan Am games trials. I sailed a good event, but ultimately when it came down to it and I faced the likelihood of actually winning, I choked. I sabotaged my own performance instead of going out, sailing my best race, and exposing myself to the possibility of being beaten by someone else. 

That experience taught me a lot about myself, and helped form who I am today. I am not the same person that I was a year ago, and I look forward to having the opportunity to test myself again under the highest levels of pressure. 

My preparations leading into the upcoming events have been very successful. In a somewhat rare occurrence, everything went exactly as I planned, and I am very satisfied with the level I have reached in the physical, psychological, and technical areas. There is little doubt in my mind that I am capable of accomplishing what I have set out to do. That being said, if there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the years, it’s that while preparations are important, they only create potential. What truly defines the outcome is what you do between the start line and finish line. Canadian swimmer and Olympic medal winner Brent Hayden said it best: “If there’s one thing that failure has taught me, is that it does not matter how well you trained. The only thing that matters is what you do when the gun goes.” 

This is what remains to be seen. 

Thank you very much for reading, and for your support over the years. 

Fillah Karim

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