Morgan Lake talks coaching, technique, and chasing 2 meters

Morgan Lake talks coaching, technique, and chasing 2 meters

In 2021, Morgan Lake found herself without a coach as her existing coach was suspended. She asked Robbie Grabarz – a former Olympic silver medallist – to help her to the Tokyo Games.  What started as seeing him once or twice a week developed into him being her coach in 2022

Morgan says of their working relationship: “Obviously, he’s got that championship mindset, having won an Olympic medal and being a European champion. He’s been there and done it, and I think for me it’s then easier for me to be able to give over that trust is really because I’m thinking, ‘OK, he’s done it before,’ and that he wouldn’t have me do something which he didn’t think worked. So, I think the trust element is a really big thing for the mindset of going to a championship. Just the fact that it has to be a little bit different to any other competition.  It’s: ‘Where can you find those little gains when you get to the championships?’ Many girls will be jumping the same heights, be it similar level, or how you keep calm and relaxed through those championships.

“And for me, one of the biggest things that Robbie helped me with last season was being calm at the majors. I got my opening high on the third attempt in qualifying in Budapest, which was such a nerve-wracking moment, but for that third attempt, he said, ‘Just breathe and stay calm and just jump it.’ And I think after that I was OK. I’m making it out to be a big thing, and so much pressure that it is just a high jump at the end of the day. You’re it’s doing the same thing you practice to do. So, I think mentality is the biggest thing”.

I love it when you ask a field athlete about their technique, and they look like they could talk about it all day! Morgan had a lot to say about technique and training. “My technique has changed a lot, and I didn’t really realize it, but I was looking back at videos from the Rio Olympics, and I was unrecognizable. At that time, I went off a rolling start; I call it a short approach now. That’s a good rolling 8-7 or eight stride approach.  My running looks different. I was training as a heptathlete in 2016, so I didn’t have as much time to work on the technical side of the run-up. It was pretty much just pure speed and power, but now I think it’s a lot more about rhythm, and I guess I…