Lutalo Muhammad has revealed the secret tactic athletes should be using to succeed at the Olympic Games this summer and credits Michael Johnson for giving him the idea.
Muhammad won a silver medal in taekwondo at Rio 2016 and a bronze medal at London 2012, while also becoming a two-time World Grand Prix, Commonwealth and European Champion before retiring.
Reflecting on his own experience, Muhammad says the athletes attending the 2024 Olympics Games must remain focused during the tournament and avoid getting caught up in the occasion this summer.
The 33-year-old explained how he adopted Johnson’s method of removing himself from the Olympic Village before competing to ensure he was focused on the job at hand rather than the celebrities around him.
He told Mail Sport during a pre-Olympic event in Paris with Discovery+: ‘Super Saturday took place when I was at the Olympics. Mo Farah Jess Ennis and Greg Rutherford, it was an amazing moment. But, I had to detach myself from it because I hadn’t competed yet.
Lutalo Muhammad has revealed the secret tactic athletes should be using to succeed
Muhammad won a silver medal in taekwondo at Rio 2016 and a bronze medal at London 2012
‘You have to be careful about what you put your energies into, even positive things like that. I remember a lot of the guys in the village were exhausted after watching that.
‘You’ve got to be quite selfish. You’ve trained a lifetime, not just four years, a lifetime, to get to this moment. And the last thing you want to do is be one of those stories where you got carried away. But, it happens.’
He went on to add: ‘I actually stayed outside the village a few days before I fought, just so I could be detached from everything. And it really worked. And that’s a strategy that I personally think is the best.
‘I looked to Michael Johnson, the great runner who was the face of the Atlanta games in 1996, to learn something. When I read and watched documentaries about his strategy, it was the same.
‘He had to detach, because if you get too invested in the emotional roller coaster, which is an Olympic games, watching your teammates, watching all the gold medals, you can easily forget why you’re there to compete and hopefully win.’
Muhammad’s introduction to taekwondo came at a young age, influenced by his father, Wayne Muhammad, who was himself a martial artist. Under his father’s guidance, Muhammad began training at the age of three and continued right up until 31.
As Muhammad grew older, it became clear that he possessed exceptional talent and his father did everything in his power to give him the opportunities he needed to thrive in the sport.
The 2024 Olympics will commence on July 26 with the opening ceremony on the river
His dad opened a taekwondo academy to ensure his son was able to train when he needed. It appeared to work as by his late teens, Muhammad had already established himself as one of the most promising young athletes in GB.
Speaking about his father’s influence, Muhammed told Mail Sport: ‘Everyone in my family is a black belt in Taekwondo. Some of my earliest memories are kicking the sofa, kicking the furniture, and driving my mum crazy.
‘My dad just felt like, Okay, we need to get a gym, because he’s got talent, clearly, and he’s destroying the house. So fortunately, he’s a martial arts master with over 50 years of experience, and we opened our family first location in 1997 and we’ve been there ever since.’
Muhammad’s breakthrough came in 2012 when he was selected to represent Great Britain at the London Olympics. Despite being a relative newcomer on the international stage, he delivered an outstanding performance, securing a bronze medal in the men’s 80 kg category.
Muhammed went on to represent GB at the 2016 Olympic Games. In the final match against Cheick Sallah Cisse of Ivory Coast, Muhammad was seconds away from securing the gold medal, leading the score until the very last moment.
In a dramatic turn of events, Cisse landed a head kick in the final second, snatching victory from Muhammad’s grasp. The look of heartbreak on Muhammad’s face became one of the enduring images of the Games.
Despite the devastating loss, Muhammad’s grace in defeat earned him widespread respect. He publicly expressed his determination to come back stronger.
Muhammad will be joining Eurosport as an expert for the first time at Paris 2024
During his career, Muhammad’s also became a two-time World Grand Prix, Commonwealth and European Champion before eventually retiring in September 2022.
As Muhammad looks towards the future, his focus remains on inspiring the next generation and furthering the sport of taekwondo. He believes working with Eurosport as an expert for the first time at Paris 2024 will help with that.
When asked whether he was excited about the upcoming Olympics, Muhammad told Mail Sport: ‘I get the same feeling as I did before Olympics, which I actually competed in. However, I guess it’s a nice bonus, but I don’t have to deal with the the anxiety that comes with fighting, so I can enjoy it as a spectator. But it’s better than that, because I get to work it.
‘I get to meet the athletes. I get to go into the Athletes Village. I get to be in the stadium, so I get to feel it. So I kind of feel like I get the best of everything without getting my head kicked in. So this is, this is a true blessing and a great opportunity. And what a great city to be in, in Paris.
‘I remember London, 2012 it was very significant to me. I grew up just around the corner from the stadium, so I remember seeing the stadium being built up in its stages when it was just scaffolding, and I used to ride my bike around there and just visualise one day competing at the Olympics. And it happened.
‘So I’m super excited for this generation of Team GB athletes, because although it’s not home Olympics, it’s pretty damn close to a home Olympics. It’s as close as they’re going to get.’
Despite oozing with excitement for the impending Games, Muhammad sympathises with those who how narrowly missed out on selection.
‘It’s absolutely devastating to miss out on Olympics. Most athletes only get the opportunity to go to one so that’s just the way life is. That’s the way sport is. A split second can be the difference between qualifying and going on to get the gold and not qualifying at all.
During his career, Muhammad’s also became a two-time World Grand Prix, Commonwealth and European Champion before eventually retiring in September 2022
Despite oozing with excitement for the impending Games, Muhammad sympathises with those who how narrowly missed out on selection for the 2024 Games
‘I think, for those athletes who are in that situation, you just have to look at it positively, I know it’s very cliche, but think about the journey, think about how far you’ve come from where you started. That should automatically bring a smile on your face.
‘There is something beautiful about just going for it, even if you don’t make it, but the fact that you went for it and put everything into it that is a gold medal within itself.
‘You know, not everyone’s going to make it to the Olympics, not everyone’s going to make it to the podium, but we all have our challenges in life which we have to go chase our gold medals in.
‘So for those athletes that didn’t make it through injury, through whatever circumstance, just keep your head up. Hopefully you’ll get to go again. And if you don’t, at least you went for it.’
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