Steps Ahead Ep 1 - Tony O'Connor on Being Average and winning Olympic Gold

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:00:00 GMT

NZ Olympic Men’s 8 Rowing Coach

Maths Teacher, Christ’s College

00:00 Olympic Gold Vision

01:12 Being Average Mindset

01:38 Being Average Under Pressure

03:41 Finding Rowing in Ireland

04:11 Growing Up and Finding Rowing

05:40 Olympic Dream Spark

06:06 Olympic Dream Spark

07:51 From Nationals to Olympics

08:28 From Nationals to Worlds

09:22 Thor Nilsen Influence

09:39 Thor Nilsen Philosophy

11:52 Training Limits and Respect

12:20 Brutal Training Experiments

16:05 Resilience and Winning Late

16:16 Resilience and Loving Process

17:46 Olympics Mindset and Debriefs

19:32 Mindset Debriefs and Nutrition

21:47 Nutrition and Marginal Gains

23:46 Coaching Culture in NZ

23:46 Coaching in New Zealand

26:18 Joining the Kiwi Eight Campaign

26:38 Joining Late and Selecting Crew

29:02 Selecting the Eight

29:16 Selection System Debate

29:47 Selection System Frustrations

30:09 Early Regattas Reality Check

30:31 Early Races And No Time

31:27 Seat Racing For Magic

32:01 Worlds Heartbreak Sixth

32:01 Worlds Heartbreak Sixth Place

32:43 Rebuilding After Missing Qual

32:43 Rebuilding After Nonqualification

33:55 COVID Reset New Blood

34:50 Knowing Athletes As People

35:07 Athletes Are People First

37:05 One Year Out Setting Goals

37:05 One Year To Tokyo

38:57 Daily Excellence Flywheel

40:16 Excellence In The Details

42:01 Competition Without Obsession

42:01 Ignore Rivals And Fads

45:04 East German Sports Machine

47:42 Honesty Trust And Selection

47:47 Brutal Honesty Builds Trust

52:44 Pressure Tools Visualization

56:44 Advice For Future Olympians

56:44 Advice Be Humble Average

58:14 Closing Thanks And Wrap

58:14 Wrap Up And Tech Talk

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