Multiple time Olympian Khatuna Lorig shares her experiences in Archery, discussing topics of motivation, training, focus, grit & persistence and cultural influence on the mental side of her career.

Grit, psychology, sport psychology , Archery, Olympics, Pro Archer, Goal Setting, Focus

Khatuna has been an Olympian since ’92 and has competed in the Olympic games ever since then so she is the embodiment of a true Olympian. Growing up in Georgia (the country) and training under the Soviet regime you could say her training was quite different from the training that most youth receive nowadays. This enormous dedication from an early age is one of the distinguishing factors in Kathuna’s story as an athlete. Besides unconventional training she also competed in her first Olympics while pregnant and through the years has returned to the Olympic games with new sets of challenges. If there is anyone who has seen it all and been through it all in the world of archery, it’s Khatuna.

During our conversation we discuss what the training experience for her was early on and how it affected the mental side of being an athlete. Next up we talked about focus in archery, the importance of it and what happens when the mind jumps into the process. Khatuna also shares her step-by-step method that she follows on every shot. Another part of our conversation we discuss the hardships she has been through and how she dealt with all types of stress in her career. Lastly, we discussed the influence of culture (or lack thereof) when it comes to the Olympics and Kathuna shares an interesting insight on what she thinks is a key difference between the U.S.A. and South Korea. As always I hope you enjoy this episode and take away something you can apply in your life. 

0:30        Introduction
3:14        Khatuna's First Experience With Archery
4:51        Early Emphasis on Physical Technique
5:40        How Dedication Played a Role
6:43        The Difference Between US and Soviet Training
8:41        Focus - The Importance & Unconventional Training
15:00     Khatuna's Thoughts on Aiming 
17:49     Physical Tension vs. Mental Relaxation
21:41     Divine Intervention?
25:00     Grit - Dealing With Adversity: Olympics, Pregnancy & Politics
28:27     Influence of Stress & Teamwork
32:00     Coping - Support From Your Environment
33:25     How The Archery Focus Bubble Held Up
35:42     Khatuna's Olympic Track Record
37:55     Goal Setting in Archery Competition
41:45     Khatuna's Long Term View
45:02     Mental Growth Over The Years
47:33     Current Mental Challenges for Khatuna
49:07     The 10 Steps of Khatuna Lorig's Archery
52:16     A Cultural Perspective on Mindset & Training
55:37     Why You Should Get Into Archery
58:41     Khatuna's Favorite Mental Practice
59:37     Practice Required
1:01:27 Khatuna's Focus Bubble