Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock didn’t start wrestling from a young age, but instead started when she was 14 — the same age that Arshya Pillai, freshman, started the sport. 

Though Pillai doesn’t have any previous experience with wrestling, she looks to the Olympian for encouragement. 

“She’s a very powerful woman,” Pillai said. “I don’t feel as weak or scared that I might not be good because seeing her progress that fast in high school makes me feel a bit better.”

After seeing Mensah-Stock win gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Pillai’s interest in wrestling grew.

Mensah-Stock not only made history with her gold medal but also had to find the strength to overcome her father’s death. Instead of becoming discouraged, she used her sadness as motivation to make herself a better athlete. 

“We can look to them and see how we can learn from them and benefit from them because they’re our idols, and learning from positive people definitely helps.” Pillai said. 

Pillai isn’t the only student to pull inspiration from famous athletes, however. 

Seeking recovering from surgery, Amin Motlaq, sophomore, worked to get back into shape after being wheelchair-bound for months. Motlaq had surgery due to a genetic issue that caused him to have flat feet, and said that running was helpful in helping him heal. 

“Not just physically but mentally because it gave structure and motivation for me to do different things,” Motlaq said. 

As he started to look more into the sport, Motlaq found out about the world record holder for the mile: Hicham El Guerrouj. Being a mile runner himself, Motlaq said he gained interest in El Guerrouj not only for the runner’s talent, but also because Motlaq connected with him and is also Muslim. 

“I would have wanted to give up, but seeing someone up there made me want to mirror their activities and become a champion just like them,” Motlaq said. 

Roger Federer is another athlete who sets examples for those in sports, and is regarded as “one of the greatest players that’s ever played” by Maanas Sanjay, sophomore. 

“He just had the best shots, best placement, best judgment,” Sanjay said. “At least when he was in his prime, he was probably in the best physical state.”

When looking to become a better tennis player, Sanjay said he turns to Federer, and learns from watching his games. Sanjay tries techniques similar to what he observes, and then implements them in his game to improve his own skill level. 

“I don’t think that just watching them makes me a better player,” Sanjay said. “I think watching them and trying it out for myself is what makes me a better player.”

This way of learning is common among many athletes and is something that John Meyer, head baseball coach, has noticed with his own athletes. 

“Having an inspiration keeps you interested in the sport and gives you a different perspective,” said Meyer. “I think one big factor about being an athlete is being able to recognize greatness in someone else.”

Though many of the students Meyer works with have the talent to be successful, he said having motivation and drive sets certain athletes apart. This motivation often comes from having influential role models to look up to and connect with in efforts to improve. 

“Having a role model gives them someone to compare to and to emulate,” Meyer said.