Turning Setbacks into Triumphs: An Olympic Story
Turning Setbacks into Triumphs: An Olympic Story
USA
Connor Fields, three-time Olympian, two-time World Champion, and the first American to win Olympic BMX Gold, teaches you and your team to show up in the moments that matter most.
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Connor was more than Fantastic. I, as well as my ownership, senior management and all of our attendees, were extremely pleased with him and the presentation he delivered. It was great to meet him and have an opportunity to have a first hand look into his life’s journey towards becoming an Olympic athlete.
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About Connor
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As one of the world’s all-time greatest BMX racers, Connor has represented the United States 50+ times in 25+ countries. At 17 Connor became the youngest rider to ever podium a BMX World Cup, and was the youngest athlete in his sport at the London 2012 games. However, his racing career was not always marked by triumphs. At the 2021 Tokyo Games, as the number one seed in his semi-final and on pace to defend his gold medal from 2016, Connor went down in one of the worst accidents in Summer Olympic history. Based on previous results, Connor still qualified for the 2021 Olympic BMX final, but instead of competing in that final race, he fought for his life in an ambulance. Connor sustained multiple injuries – broken ribs, a collapsed lung, torn shoulder and bicep ligaments, brain swelling, and four life-threatening brain hemorrhages.
The road to recovery took him through surgery, therapy, and intense physical and cognitive rehabilitation. Connor had to regain the energy to do simple tasks, strengthen short-term memory, relearn vocabulary, and even learn how to speak correctly. He learned firsthand that Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors go through physical, mental, and emotional changes throughout their recovery. Not only did he face the pain of being denied the chance to defend his Gold Medal, but Connor also has no memory of competing in his final Olympics – the moment he trained his entire life for.
Connor realized that, just like in training, life is not about being perfect or getting everything 100% correct. People focus on the last 1% when it’s the 99% that creates champions. It wasn’t the last 1% – a second Olympic Gold – that would make Connor a champion—the 99% of who he already was made him a winner. Connor learned the importance of mental health and having to rebuild yourself when everything goes completely wrong.
Book Connor Fields for your next event and harness the power of resilience, determination, and peak performance. Transform your team’s mindset and drive towards unparalleled success
See keynotes with Connor FieldsHave you ever wondered what goes through an athlete’s mind when they are about to compete in the Olympic final?
The race for all the glory with hundreds of millions of people watching at home.
How do they stay calm? How do they even reach that significant moment in the first place?
Each of us has our version of a “Gold Medal,” and success holds a unique meaning for all. Yet, we can all harness the exact strategies to reach our moment and seize it.
In his keynote, ‘GOLD MEDAL MOMENTS,’ Connor Fields delves into his journey toward Olympic Gold, a path laden with hurdles every step of the way. He shares his true story, filled with adversity, setbacks, and relentless determination. At the heart of his experience is a crucial lesson: the significance of performing at your peak when it matters most.
Despite winning almost every competition along the way, Connor ultimately “choked” in his first Olympic final appearance. He went home with nothing more than a participation certificate. He dedicated the next four years to mastering how to be at his physical best and mentally prepared to execute during that one critical moment if it ever came around again. When it did, he was ready.
Connor shares three strategies you can immediately implement to give yourself the best chance of reaching your Gold Medal Moment and his method for executing in that pivotal moment. The potential for personal growth and increased achievement using these strategies is limitless.
In this keynote focused on mental health, Connor Fields reveals the challenges many athletes face on their journey to the Olympics, particularly regarding mental health. He shares his struggles with failure, embarrassment, depression, and a crisis of confidence, which almost led him to give up. Despite these obstacles, Connor found the strength to persevere and ultimately triumph at the 2016 Olympics.
In pursuit of his next gold medal in 2021, Connor faced a life-threatening challenge: a traumatic brain injury that nearly ended his life and forced him into retirement. This experience prompted Connor to reflect on the fragility of life and embark on a transformative journey.
It made him question his identity and his next steps, leading to a newfound emphasis on mental health and the realization that success is more than just winning medals. It’s about finding balance, purpose, and inner peace.
Connor’s story serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a reminder that success goes beyond medals; it’s about perspective and gratitude for what you have rather than focusing on what you don’t.
Connor Fields is the consummate professional. Not only is this Olympic Gold Medal athlete a rock star on the track, he was respectful, easy to work with, prompt and super professional as the Grand Marshall of Downtown Summerlin’s 2016 Holiday Parade and tree-lighting ambassador. He comfortably spoke to a crowd of more than 20,000 onlookers and did a superb job. I would highly recommend him for any corporate or public facing opportunity.
WOW! Connor got us fired up and moved us all emotionally. Our team was glued to their seats as we listened to the details of his journey to understand how to be the best in the world. We got to see behind the curtain on what it really takes to be a high performance individual.
Jeff Quinton
Connor was the perfect closing keynote for our Ohio Parks and Recreation Association conference. He delivered an inspiring and engaging address which completely mesmerized our more than 800 attendees. He was easy to work with and we highly recommend him.
Woody Woodward
From the very first contact I had with Connor, it was easy to tell how much he genuinely cared about his message and inspiring people. He spent time ahead of the conference to understand our culture and our people and then customized the message to make it impactful for the audience. The keynote speech was the highlight of our conference and added tremendous value for our attendees!
Brian Rowley
Connor is a mix of when real world talent, meets uncompromised dedication to his craft. We had the pleasure of him speaking to our select group of top sales people. The feedback was outstanding. Some remarks were “wow how real he was”, “he spoke directly to what I am going through”. His experience with failure, adversity, and success is Unparalleled. Failure is apart of everything great Entrepreneurs and salesmen go through, but so is success. His experience and story telling of his journey is one that our team will always remember. Having the pleasure of being with him for a few days I can also speak to his character and the kind of man he is. Lots of times what you hear on stage and what is real life can be two different stories but not with Connor. He truly is and example of how hard work, talent and discipline make for an unstoppable combination.
Will Hickey
Sharing your goal setting and training process was exactly what our team needed.
Lamar Martin
Connor Fields was the keynote speaker for our 4th Annual CTE Leadership Summit for students grades 9-12th. He was phenomenal at holding the students attention via our virtual platform! Connor was a joy to work with and was able to connect our theme of a good leader being a difference maker to his story. We are hopeful to have him in person or as a virtual keynote again!
Shannon Watson
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