A Winning Combination | D49’s Gold Medal Connection

In the summer of 2024, the City of Lights called athletes and spectators from around the world for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. As School District 49 geared up for the start of the fall semester in Colorado Springs and eastern El Paso County, a member of the D49 workforce had an overseas assignment: coach a determined wrestler pursuing her dreams of becoming an Olympic champion.  

In this episode, we welcome U.S. Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, and Vladislav Izzy Izboinikov, from D49’s Springs Studio of Academic Excellence. We’ll learn how these two have found a winning combination as coach and athlete, what it’s like to watch the final seconds run off the clock on the way to Olympic Gold, and why more athletes like Sarah are stepping onto the mat. 

Transcript

49 Voices-Episode 8 transcrtipt.txt
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;29;27
Unknown
Yeah, I know what that morning was. Chaos like. We absolutely prepare for the unexpected, but that is beyond what I think anybody is capable of dreaming up. But luckily enough, what we'd been working on was just kind of this ability to accept what the present moment was and not let the feelings or emotions of that kind of derail me and instead kind of be non-judgmental of them and then take effective actions within the presence of them.

00;00;29;27 - 00;00;56;09
Unknown
So that had been really the theme of my whole preparation. That was U.S. gold medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT. In this episode, we will welcome Sarah and Vladislav. Izzy is Monica from D 49 Spring Studio of Academic Excellence. We'll learn how these two have found a winning combination as coach and athlete, what it's like to watch the final seconds run off the clock on the way to Olympic gold and why more athletes like Sarah are stepping onto the mat.

00;00;56;12 - 00;01;25;09
Unknown
Let's get to it. You're listening to 49 Voices, a D 49 podcast. Spend some time with us as we take an in-depth look at how our workforce students, families and community make D 49 the best choice to learn, work and lead. These are our stories of dedication, innovation and inspiration as we deliver excellence in education. Theirs is a partnership that goes back nearly ten years.

00;01;25;11 - 00;01;45;12
Unknown
A wrestler named Sarah at the time, not unproven, just looking to take the next big step toward a goal she set as a young girl. The singularity of Olympic competition electrified Sarah HILDEBRANDT at a point in her life when she didn't know exactly how she'd compete. Just that she would one day. That path for Sara and others like her goes through.

00;01;45;12 - 00;02;12;21
Unknown
Vladislav is born a. Pretty much everyone, including all the school district 49. Just call him Izzy. A coach with an established record for winning, stretching back to his days as a competitor in his native Russia. Izzy by reputation, has a knack for shaping wrestlers into champions, which he's been doing as part of USA Wrestling since 2005. The Path to Paris required building a partnership and maximum effort for a wrestler named Sarah.

00;02;12;24 - 00;02;34;12
Unknown
Thank you so much for joining us for 49 Voices, a D 49 podcast. I am David Nancarrow, director of Communications, sitting in for Peter Hilts on this episode. We are now in our third season of 49 Voices and we couldn't be more thrilled to kick off Season three with our guests in studio for this episode. U.S. gold medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT.

00;02;34;15 - 00;02;52;23
Unknown
And Vladislav is he is Bonica from 49 Spring Studio of Academic Excellence, the coordinator of our high performance program, which we're going to talk about in a little bit here. But first, guys, thank you so much for being with us. It's such a pleasure to have you today. Thank you. It's awesome to be on. Yes, good to be here.

00;02;52;23 - 00;03;15;01
Unknown
And I'm glad Sarah was able to make and then excited to hear her what she says and what she thinks. Absolutely. We're going to get to know you guys a little bit here today as well as our audience are listening. Audience to learn a little bit about your connection as coaches in athletes and in how you guys get from point A to point B in terms of, you know, working out and then getting to the Olympics.

00;03;15;01 - 00;03;37;04
Unknown
So we'll just jump right in. So, Sarah, let us know, how did you first connect with Izzy and what were your first impressions? You know, Izzy, so he's been with USA Wrestling for a while. So when I was just an up and coming athlete, I'd seen him and, you know, been in the practice room with him. He has a bit of just this law behind him.

00;03;37;04 - 00;04;00;02
Unknown
He's produced a lot of amazing athletes and wrestlers. And so I was well aware of him before he was ever on his radar. And just kind of looked up to him and knew he was really, really talented at what he was doing. So any chance I got to just like, work with him in passing or catch, like, just some advice or technical advice from him was like such a big deal to me.

00;04;00;05 - 00;04;20;01
Unknown
I think, you know, I would just see him at camps here and there, but probably in like 2079 was when I started working with him as like very like we're working together, he's helping me out. He's my coach, at least in the practice room and but yeah, my first impression is like this man, he, he knows it all.

00;04;20;02 - 00;04;38;02
Unknown
He is like this wizard of wrestling. And anything I can get from him, any nugget was like. Like treasure to me. And you get to to walk up to him. His most approachable person, you know, in the room. It's been my experience. he's so. Yeah. And he's absolutely just a good person to be around. Fun energy, great vibes.

00;04;38;04 - 00;04;54;13
Unknown
But it was like something because he was so like successful and had produced such amazing wrestlers. Like, it was like, yes, he was easy to be around, but he was intimidating in the sense of like, I'm you. my God, I'm just this little girl. I don't even know how to wrestle. I'm not nervous around him, you know, no matter what to mess up.

00;04;54;16 - 00;05;13;24
Unknown
There was like, it actually took me so long in my career to not be nervous around him, at least from a wrestling standpoint, because, you know, I wanted him to think I was good and that I was trying my hardest. And I got even up to like 2019. I would go to practice just like I'd see his car in the parking lot and be like, my God, I'm nervous.

00;05;13;24 - 00;05;32;17
Unknown
I don't want to mess up today. That's amazing. So let's hear from the coaches perspective then. Is he how much do you get to know about the athletes before you get to work with them? So was Sarah on your radar before he connected as part of U.S. wrestling? Well, Sarah makes me nervous. Too late in our career, she just started making me nervous.

00;05;32;17 - 00;05;59;13
Unknown
So we switched just for the record. But no, I knew Sarah. She was coming through our development ranks. She was part of our junior world teams, so I obviously observed her before. We didn't get a chance to work really, really closely until she she moved to the training center only before training center, which was 2016. Yeah, but that, but that year.

00;05;59;15 - 00;06;22;05
Unknown
Yeah. And just kind of like slowly, you know, you start small, small steps trying to give some feedback, see how receptive the athlete is, watching some, you know, work ethic and other tendencies. That might be a good indicator that this is the athlete that is serious about what they're doing and will take the time spend with the effectiveness of becoming world and Olympic champion.

00;06;22;08 - 00;06;56;16
Unknown
So and Sarah just slowly would kind of like start working like she mentioned. And obviously every step we took, which, you know, it takes it takes a minute for two individuals to see how they worked well together or not. And and after several months, I thought this is the person who definitely could be something special. You know, she had definitely a unique approach to wrestling and just her her demeanor in the room, her work ethic was without without a doubt was one of the best I've seen.

00;06;56;18 - 00;07;28;12
Unknown
You know, But something else about her was very, very attractive as she was very respectful. She always, always took advice, took hard, always tried to do her best to to maybe mimic what you're trying to show or maybe share some of her ideas about things. So, yeah, I think it's you know, it was it wasn't super slow process, but like with any athlete, it takes a little bit of time, especially in this sport, like wrestling, it's a very one on one type of not just in the competition field, but also in the practice room.

00;07;28;14 - 00;07;50;00
Unknown
So I think so sorry. And I definitely had about, I don't know, about a year or two before we before it became like a thing, right, for a thing. And we started working together. And there was there was a moment there where in 2017 where Sarah sort of got injured in one of the competitions which sidelined her from traveling and actively competing.

00;07;50;02 - 00;08;09;23
Unknown
And she was just in the room every day doing as much as she could. And I think that was like our first big, big progress forward where we really just started working because she was grounded due to the injury and we just spent a lot of time just kind of like working through things. And, and I think that's one of the things really took off.

00;08;10;01 - 00;08;35;08
Unknown
It sounds like you could recognize some drive when you were first getting to know each other. Yeah, I think so. I think you can recognize drive, you can recognize some passion for the sport. You can recognize some even wrestling IQ, you know, which is very important, especially later when things become very complicated and tactically, technically. So I think all the attributes that I thought were important for wrestlers, Sarah absolutely possessed them.

00;08;35;10 - 00;08;55;23
Unknown
And and then we just, you know, we said, let's, let's give it a go. Awesome. Excellent. So, Sarah, would you tell us a little bit about your time in Paris? So we as spectators certainly can watch it unfold, either streaming or watching it on TV. Aside from your gold medal performance, what stands out to you as someone who had boots on the ground like right there in Paris?

00;08;55;27 - 00;09;15;03
Unknown
Yeah, it was such a dream. my gosh. When you know, it's not even an exaggeration to be like, this was the best time of my life. I was having so much fun. But gosh, Paris just put on an amazing games like, you know, I only have it to Tokyo to compare, which was obviously very different in 2021, but it was so much fun.

00;09;15;05 - 00;09;35;19
Unknown
There was a lot going on. The city was involved in loving it. Everyone was so kind and helpful. The energy was just real. I feel like everyone could feel it, you know, they did this really cool thing. It was like the Park of Champions or something like that. And so after I had won, we went and it was I felt like I was Taylor Swift.

00;09;35;19 - 00;09;51;21
Unknown
It was like a it was like this massive stage and fans were just there just to cheer. Like that was all we were doing. We just walked out and waved and I didn't know really what to do besides, like smile and wave. And people were just there to like, congratulate you, cheer for you. They wanted photos, They wanted autographs.

00;09;51;21 - 00;10;10;07
Unknown
Like I'm like, my gosh, I'm Taylor Swift. This is amazing. And it was just so much fun. I mean, that was it was really, really cool to be a part of. And I'm so excited to see what host cities do from here on out because I feel like Paris just really set a standard that has surpassed all the games before.

00;10;10;07 - 00;10;41;25
Unknown
And it's just exciting to see how this is going to really give birth, I think, to all New Olympics experience that I think is so cool for for fans, for coaches, families and then, you know, athletes. I think this is a huge moment, obviously, for them. So to build them up and let them just soak it all in, it's so satisfying to hear that there are people who are there in the host city that really just get as excited about the Olympics from a participant, from a viewer, from an audience perspective, to be a part of that as well.

00;10;41;27 - 00;11;05;00
Unknown
So would you say that that was a pretty large contingent of people from Paris and beyond or really just sort of their centralized in in the city? You know, I think there was a good amount of people there and it was cool because and, you know, I don't know, you know, where from in all of that. But I will say in like at least when I was competing, I competed in a lot of world championships.

00;11;05;00 - 00;11;21;26
Unknown
And those are typically just wrestling fans and families who come to those. Right. You don't get a lot of other sports or just casual viewers. It felt different, the fans, the energy. And that's no disrespect to wrestling fans, but there was just like, you know, you could just tell these were people who were energetic. They wanted to cheer.

00;11;21;26 - 00;11;36;21
Unknown
They don't know where it was going on. They you know, they were just like, do it felt like, you know, you're at like a football game. There's like clapping and chanting and like, it was very, very loud. Whereas like, when you get to like hardcore fans, you know, they're almost kind of quiet sometimes because they're just taking in the sport.

00;11;36;21 - 00;11;59;17
Unknown
It's like coming from a good place. But a lot of times you walk into a wrestling tournament and it's very quiet. So this was like people who don't even know wrestling, they're out there screaming, cheering, chanting. And then you also get like other athletes from other sports. And I know there were like some women's rugby players who came to my finals match, and I've never felt cooler in my life and like hearing that these athletes were here to watch me.

00;11;59;17 - 00;12;21;20
Unknown
And I'm like, my gosh, like you guys are superstars to me. Like, I can't believe you came to watch me, you know? So I think there's some of that as well. I love that. Yeah. Talk about a group of studs just in showing up and cheering on everybody else. I love that part. As a member in the audience, watching the support from other teams, other interests, other segments in the games come in by day.

00;12;21;20 - 00;12;39;00
Unknown
Just watch the show and cheer everybody on. I think that's fantastic. Absolutely. It's so cool. And that's what really the Olympics is about. Like that camaraderie in that moment is so it's so special. Yeah. So, Coach, is he the games in Tokyo kind of as a as a possible exception. We were in a different space at that time.

00;12;39;02 - 00;13;02;21
Unknown
You've been to a number of games previously. I would imagine that you really can't duplicate or replicate that anywhere else. True that experience, that energy. Yeah, and I would agree with Sarah, too. Obviously, we you know, every game is special and they all have their own unique flavors and attributes. And I think, you know, going back, I think I loved every single one of them for different reasons.

00;13;02;21 - 00;13;24;06
Unknown
But Paris was it was definitely exciting. It was flashy, It was exciting. Maybe because the previous Olympics, Tokyo did not have any of that. So this was coming back to everything. The Olympic Games are about. You know, it was a cheering. It was fans everywhere in the streets. There were dressed up, there were chanting whatever was something going on or not.

00;13;24;08 - 00;13;47;12
Unknown
So and then, you know, obviously the from the wrestling arena was completely full. It was a really nice cozy, not super big, but completely full arena. And it was you know, we can hear everything. And it was it was just I was excited for the athletes because, you know, Sarah specifically, you know, competed in Tokyo as well with no no fans on the bleachers.

00;13;47;14 - 00;14;13;07
Unknown
No cheers. No, you know, just not that flavor, Olympic flavor. So this one was really special because everything was back to normal, a normal Olympic experience. And they know when you succeed that in that environment and the environment gives you back, it was even even more special. The Olympics in Tokyo were like none the world had seen before the games took place.

00;14;13;07 - 00;14;55;09
Unknown
But due to gathering restrictions, in-person attendance was significantly limited. Not only was wrestling in a nearly empty arena odd for Sarah, frankly, so was the bronze she earned, which many would agree was not the expected outcome. And then came 2024. Let's listen to the call. Sarah HILDEBRANDT The lessons learned from the loss in Tokyo, paying off in Paris right down to the there's that Sarah smile, golden glow for Sarah Hildebrand, the Sarah smile is a gift to those with whom she shares it, and that's anyone who will ever meet her.

00;14;55;16 - 00;15;19;13
Unknown
For some time after Tokyo, Sarah wondered if the world would see it from the Olympic mat again. The Journey to Paris. As it turns out, had plenty of twists and turns. So, Sarah, we know that you took home bronze in Tokyo. Tell us about your mindset then. Looking ahead to your next opportunity. How soon did you know that you'd be going for a spot in the Paris Games?

00;15;19;16 - 00;15;43;24
Unknown
It was actually difficult. I don't think I was like fully committed. Honestly, I would throw myself with retirement like every other week, like through even into 2024. If you go back and read my journals and like February of 2024, I was like, you know, maybe we'll just be that, you know, I had this feeling I should retire, you know, just like mental battles, even as late as that and Olympic trials were in April.

00;15;43;24 - 00;16;07;05
Unknown
So but, you know, I got the bronze medal in 21, and it was really difficult for me. I lost a really heartbreaking way. I just felt very empty, very void of like just like myself, you know, I felt very robotic, very like so disciplined that I'd lost a really core essence of myself. And so that left me feeling just kind of yucky.

00;16;07;07 - 00;16;22;09
Unknown
So I knew I had a lot of work to do If I did want to come back and it was going to be a lot of hard work, it was going to be uncomfortable. I had to confront a lot of demons, you know, just some insecurities and a lot of mental work. It's, you know, luckily, is he with me?

00;16;22;09 - 00;16;41;22
Unknown
And he really helped guide it and navigate through that. I absolutely wouldn't have been able to do it without him. And what he added and people he brought into our circle and we just started chipping away at things we need to chip away at. And I kind of just held myself accountable to doing those things, but not putting pressure of like, will you have to compete or you have to go to the Olympics.

00;16;41;24 - 00;17;06;07
Unknown
I just let the focus be on improving those things. And as we did that, it kind of just guided us through the next three years and, you know, April 24 rolls around and we make the team again as he's in my corner. And, you know, I think at that point it's like, all right, let's do this thing. But there were still days where I'm like, Girl, at the end of the day, if this isn't something what you want to do, you could still walk away.

00;17;06;07 - 00;17;30;29
Unknown
You know, I think it was important for me to it was always coming from myself, for myself, and for bigger reasons than gold medals or winning, you know? And so that kind of help me balance that obsession with winning and that, you know, human pursuit, that making myself better. And so I never set myself to this idea of like, you need to go right now and you have to do this.

00;17;30;29 - 00;17;53;23
Unknown
So it was like fine line of that. But it was definitely every other day, you know, you're asking yourself like, are you sure you want to do this? That's awesome. I mean, what a great answer. You know, because without having met you before, I fully could have expected you to say something like it was the the second after my hand came down or I stepped off the podium, I knew that that 24 was where I'm going.

00;17;53;23 - 00;18;12;17
Unknown
Right. But an amazing mindset. Thank you for sharing that with us. So, Coach, how can I add just a little bit to that answer too? And I think that's why she won. That's why Sarah won, right? Because the second after Tokyo Olympics, she didn't say, okay, I got to go redeem myself. I got to get to go harder, I got to go.

00;18;12;20 - 00;18;35;13
Unknown
It was a was a lot of, like you said, a lot of mental work. And I think because the hesitation I think because attention to her feelings as well as why she's doing that, it brought her back to to the place to where she had to work hard to improve. And the hard work is hard and didn't come with, you know, ease.

00;18;35;18 - 00;18;56;20
Unknown
But I think because it was a hesitation, continue or not, success came, right, because that hesitation brought a lot of questions. You brought a lot of contemplation and a lot of hard work. And I think if she would not done it, would she jump in the redemption train right away? I don't know if she would have won this gold medal.

00;18;56;20 - 00;19;21;16
Unknown
Right. She needs to get off the train she was on. He was fast moving train, a train that did take her places, but not where she wanted to go. I would just say that's true. That's great. Yeah. And then so we as successful as that train was, we it was still not going to the final destination. You know, I know I'm talking like in metaphors, but we needed to we needed to get off, we needed to regroup.

00;19;21;20 - 00;19;51;29
Unknown
We need to ask some hard questions. We need Sarah to rediscover herself and find herself in wrestling. Before that, she was competing like everybody else and trying to outdo everybody else. Doing what everybody else were doing, and that wasn't working. So she had to find herself, her own train, her own path, and like she mentioned, was probably in those four years was more focus not on the technical or tactical elements, although we always work on that.

00;19;51;29 - 00;20;16;03
Unknown
That's why we go to practice every day. But really more internal, more internal than once. Once we started making improvements, then we knew that, you know, and actually amazingly, even in the places where we didn't think we could make any more improvements, we made some improvements, you know, in the technical because of her mindset, because her ability to know who she is and how she wants to compete, how do you want to win this gold medal?

00;20;16;05 - 00;20;38;10
Unknown
Like not about the hand raised, like how do you want to this path to be? And once she starts figuring it out and that path looked like a Sarah path, not like somebody else's or something that she thought somebody wants her to do or say or act, then I think that's when then that's when she realized, like, you know what, this is happening, what I'm in.

00;20;38;10 - 00;21;00;13
Unknown
Correct me if I'm wrong, what I'm kind of hearing you guys describe is sounds like to me a lot more like a like a partnership, a friendship, a support system type of connection more than a coach athlete, you know, one driving the other or one sort of looking for one thing particular. Would you say that that that's a fair description?

00;21;00;16 - 00;21;26;25
Unknown
I think that's very spot on. Discrete description enough, what, 5 minutes to do this podcast. I always say it's that exactly what you're describing, the relationship, the trust level, the ability to communicate and understand each other, give space to each other, trust each other. So eight years in the making, right? So it's been eight years we've been working together and it's a again, the work we're not always was pretty.

00;21;26;27 - 00;21;55;17
Unknown
Not always was. We always hit the right spots, but we always regrouped. We always trusted each other to make a right decisions for each other. You know, like I said, was a very collaborative work in the way that Sarah allowed me. And I have to thank her for that to go in and across corners of her soul, right to for me to begin to help her or other person or other people to begin to help her out, she had to trust us that we truly we all say that we're in the best interest.

00;21;55;17 - 00;22;13;13
Unknown
Right. But it does still take a minute for an athlete to realize, yes, this people are in my best interest. So she allow us to she allowed herself to be vulnerable with us. With us. I mean, you have a group of people, obviously, besides myself, that that guided her towards this gold medal. It wasn't just me by any means.

00;22;13;15 - 00;22;37;03
Unknown
And we would thank her for that and made our job very interesting, but also very important. Right. We want to make sure that we deliver deliver over to Sarah to what she's giving us. Yeah, An incredible story. Thank you, guys. Yeah, I appreciate that. So. So, Sarah, let's talk about that final match. Pretty compelling runner up, because initially you were expecting to wrestle a different competitor, right?

00;22;37;08 - 00;23;06;05
Unknown
Yes. Yeah. And so different get better, but then then you ended up facing the competitor from Cuba who've you've faced before that match. So then how does that factor in to your preparation, short notice change someone you've seen before? How does that sort of factor into the planning and the prep? Yeah, I know that morning was chaos. Like we absolutely prepare for the unexpected, but that is like beyond what I think anybody is capable of dreaming up.

00;23;06;07 - 00;23;29;10
Unknown
But luckily enough, what we'd been working on was just kind of this ability to accept what the present moment was and not let the feelings or emotions of that kind of derail me and instead kind of be nonjudgmental of them and then take effective actions within the presence of them. So that had been really the theme of my whole preparation and something we've been working on for the last three years at that point.

00;23;29;12 - 00;23;45;01
Unknown
And I had come up short miserably for the last three years. So it was nice to, you know, at the highest moment of my career. That's the lesson that is in front of me, right? Like, my gosh, I've been working on this for so long. It's time. Finally, the gold medal on the line, literally in this in this situation.

00;23;45;01 - 00;24;01;14
Unknown
But yeah, so it was a lot of that, just not judging. There was obviously a lot of uncomfortable emotions that came up, but we just jumped right back into the plan. And then, you know, Izzy and I, how we kind of break down opponents. We have tiers of people, you know, top tier, middle tier, and then just lower tier.

00;24;01;16 - 00;24;20;26
Unknown
So I had studied everybody who had wrestled who I had, and we have a good idea about everyone. So it was easy enough to kind of switch the game plan within that. But then there's just new pressures involved, right? So, I've beaten this girl before. I should beat her. I should be her bad again. Like this is there's maybe less of like an underdog feeling more pressure.

00;24;20;26 - 00;24;39;23
Unknown
So just again, kind of naming those thoughts that were popping up, normalizing them, not judging them. It's okay that I feel whatever which way, and then just kind of letting them float on by like I can feel those things and still take effective actions to get me to my goals, you know? So and that's what we did. We have right into our plan.

00;24;39;23 - 00;24;56;19
Unknown
So, okay, this is your new opponent. This is kind of technically where you need to be. And let's get a nap, let's get nutrition, let's get rehab in, getting body feeling right, You know, come back tonight and take care of business. Like at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who steps on the mat with me, I'm wrestling whoever is out there, you know.

00;24;56;21 - 00;25;19;02
Unknown
So that's what we did. And obviously, I have an amazing team around me who made that as smooth as possible, but definitely crazy morning. Well, Sarah Sarah downplays a lot of that because it took my crazy it was like she said, you know, we prepare for a lot of unexpected things. We were not prepared for that. And of course, as a coach, you're like, okay, how does that are going to react to that?

00;25;19;04 - 00;25;51;26
Unknown
And I'll tell you what, I, I just watched Sarah work. I just literally and by work I mean processing the information that's coming in, constantly adjusting information. We we were told at one point that there will not be a match, that we will collect the forfeit. And Sarah's Olympic champion. And and we actually at that point were, you know, following our daily plan and we're finishing breakfast and we received this call and we had a little bit and just believe we in the cafeteria at Olympic Village and they're like, you win.

00;25;51;26 - 00;26;14;10
Unknown
We're like that's yeah still that morning that point and didn't make weight and you will receive your gold medal and it was a little bit strange to win the gold medal in the cafeteria but yeah you know we don't choose how we win gold medals when we're happy. So only on about an hour later or hour and a half later to find out that we actually do have a match.

00;26;14;12 - 00;26;42;24
Unknown
And so the time between knowing that or receiving the information that she received, she is Olympic champion to not quite yet. You can only imagine the entire life that 20 years, whatever Sarah spend wrestling up to that point, her lifelong dream was accomplished and the the dump of the emotions and yeah and then to know that No, no, no, not so fast.

00;26;42;26 - 00;27;04;19
Unknown
We're going to have to wrestle step on the mat. She had to put it all back together. Wow. Put it all back together. All spelled out. It's all spelled out in the lower emotions and crying, laughing and just just the crazy stuff. And then we have to put it all back in the bottle. All right? And it's one of those things it's we didn't want it to be a toothpaste effect where it spilled out.

00;27;04;19 - 00;27;25;06
Unknown
We can put it back together. Guess what? We're incapable of competing now. And as a coach, you don't know, right? There are athletes that cannot put it back together in their athletes that can and and I tell you what, I just watched Sarah work. I mean, she she looked at me, See, I need 30 minutes. I remember I'm a professional.

00;27;25;08 - 00;27;48;12
Unknown
I will put it back together. And I saw her 30 minutes later. It's like it never happen. It's amazing. You know, I don't know if there's ever been I don't remember in my 30 plus coaching career that I've ever been in a situation as extreme as this one and the athlete managing it and dealing with that as well as surrogate, I really I really don't remember ever still processing it.

00;27;48;13 - 00;28;07;19
Unknown
Still, still. Every time I repeat the story, I get a goosebumps and I'm thinking I was I don't know how I was react to the we were all just we all were just dreaming, appalled and crazy about this one. She won and she came up to the coin after the winning the gold medal and I think maybe even said something to the extent like, Hey, look, you won twice in one day.

00;28;07;20 - 00;28;30;22
Unknown
One joy twice in one day. Olympic champion. Well, I mean, talk about a mindful approach. I feel like I need to listen to what you just said to process what you're telling me right now, because my my breath is catching in my chest as I'm here. You explain how all this went down in such a short amount of time and then needing to get yourself back in the mindset to compete and to compete for a gold.

00;28;30;25 - 00;28;52;14
Unknown
I mean, that that's bananas like you could not L.A.. I cannot imagine that. So let's let's talk a little bit more about the match. You know, Sarah is leading carrying a three point lead going into those those final moments. That's pretty good, really, rookie. No, no. Look at you. You know, the scoring average, I think. Yeah, exactly. I I'm fancy.

00;28;52;16 - 00;29;11;14
Unknown
Yeah. So three point lead going into the homestretch what's going through your head as those second are ticking down. Yeah no that's a great question and we've been we've been asked the question before and before I answer thoroughly alluded to the fact that we've wrestled his opponent before. Sarah wrestled his opponent before, and it was a pretty dominant performance now.

00;29;11;14 - 00;29;39;10
Unknown
And but the mistakes sometimes they add and it's make thinking that's going to be exactly same match or they trying to make it in exactly the same match not taking into account the different level of competition, how the athletes arrived to this match and all of this kind of things. So we definitely want to not take anything to this match or to the games at all from the past.

00;29;39;14 - 00;30;01;17
Unknown
You know, we didn't want to chase anything If we lost to somebody, we didn't want to make it the redemption. If we beat somebody, we didn't want to assume that that's going to happen again. We wanted to make it just about this competition. Right. We talk about business approach to the tournament, not a not a personal vendetta. So we want to make sure that that stays clear.

00;30;01;19 - 00;30;22;21
Unknown
And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So this was one of the matches were like in the semifinal match to wrestle the athlete that we've lost several times before. So same thing. We needed to come in, clean slate and compete this tournament. This opponent today. Right. Not trying to redeem ourselves because we might have came short in the past.

00;30;22;21 - 00;30;46;13
Unknown
Right. In those kind of things tend to push athletes to do things that they maybe not ready to do in the middle of the match. Right. Or extend their position a little bit faster than they need to. So it worked on us in the semifinals. So in the final match was a reverse situation where we were favorite. We were no, no, not an underdog, but we didn't want to assume that the win will come with ease.

00;30;46;16 - 00;31;15;09
Unknown
So we didn't want to chase the points we wanted to. The points come to us naturally. And we're also and we've worked in the Sarah works in that very, very hard, knowing that the three point win is a great win at the Olympic finals. We don't need a ten zero, we need a three point lead. Sometimes when the athletes forget and they try and again extend themselves or chase score on the board versus wrestling the match in front of them, they end up mistakes, starts to happening.

00;31;15;09 - 00;31;35;22
Unknown
And that happened to us before and all of a sudden match begins to roll in the direction we cannot stop. So we were happy with a30 lead. We didn't I didn't look for anything more than that. We wanted to be very controlled. We want to score early and then if more points came later in the match, we're absolutely would have take advantage of that.

00;31;35;23 - 00;32;00;17
Unknown
There was a few opportunities, but only if I was. It was more organic and natural match and we were still in control in every position. It was incredible just to watch it and watching it and thinking to myself, okay, what kind of position is she in? You know, right now as this is happening? You know, we are talking seconds, but as I watch wrestling and I know that things can change, you know, really fast, right?

00;32;00;20 - 00;32;23;14
Unknown
I'm just kind of given whatever piece might happen, the focus that it takes to stay right there in the zone and not let that ghost of the past creep in. Right. Has to be has to be tough. True? absolutely. And that's something we worked so much on. I mean, I practice was almost essentially built around these very short periods where I'm only winning by a small amount.

00;32;23;14 - 00;32;44;07
Unknown
And can you lock can you close the match out? You know, it's almost easy. You go out there, you get attack, it's done, it's over. But when it's a tight match and you're winning and you have to kind of hold this lead, maintain this lead that can be really hard mentally. So to do that with all the added pressure of, you know, winning the Olympics, on top of that, it was really hard.

00;32;44;07 - 00;32;58;23
Unknown
But it was absolutely what we've worked on. We've set the scenario up so many times. It's funny, it's not ever a scenario that I was like, Well, I feel good about that now. You know, at practice every day I was like, Screw that, I hate this. I don't want to work on this. This is the most uncomfortable news story.

00;32;58;26 - 00;33;15;24
Unknown
Yeah. By his direct quote. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I buy his head off almost every day. He's like, all right, this is what we're going to do. And I'm like, Wow, this man is insane. I can't stand him now. But then, of course, you know, that's how we end up winning the Olympics. It's like he he wrote the lesson plan for us.

00;33;15;27 - 00;33;38;18
Unknown
Well, and again, you know, Sarah, Sarah going over there and doing what she was training to do was the key. The key. So it's not it wasn't like, you know, we're talking about the final match. That wasn't the match. That is, I would say Sarah match, Right? So that's not the match that she would chose to wrestle, but that's the match that needed to be wrestled for Olympic finals.

00;33;38;20 - 00;33;59;19
Unknown
Again, thinking about everything, that how we came up to the match, everything that happened early in the day, thinking about the magnitude of the match and in knowing it, knowing our opponent. So we knew that we we can control that match pretty much from the beginning to the end. Right? Right. So we did some I'd say bare minimum, but I think we did the smart thing.

00;33;59;19 - 00;34;20;20
Unknown
You know, we've been in the opposite match as well. We let it go and Sarah started chasing things and maybe only led to find out like, do we really need needed that or what happened over there would push you forward. Right. Some some thoughts of I have to do some things right. And the only thing you really have to do in the wrestling, that is to win the wrestling match.

00;34;20;25 - 00;34;39;23
Unknown
That's the job, right? That's the job points. A byproduct of that strategy. A byproduct of that. And in Sarah was you know, I know there were days where we're not we're not always agreed on everything. But I think you know even though during those days when we practiced then I would specifically choose a pawn. Is that hard to score on?

00;34;40;00 - 00;35;00;05
Unknown
And she has to fight through for the majority of the match for a misery to point Tig down and it'll take her 6 minutes to get there. Initially, I come back to the field and fight longer with no points on the board, and it wasn't hers. It was frustrating for her. It was discouraging even. But I knew that is going to come down, is going to come down to this.

00;35;00;05 - 00;35;26;26
Unknown
And we need to control our emotions and wrestle that type of match. And, you know, kudos to her for allowing me to keep guiding her in that direction because because at the end, she is the one who had to go and execute that and allow allow this plan to play out. Yeah. So for any of our listeners right now, it may be a little bit late at this point, but spoiler alert, Sarah HILDEBRANDT wins gold in the United States at four in the Olympics.

00;35;26;28 - 00;35;51;13
Unknown
So I wonder, Sarah, at this point, you know, we are now weeks beyond. Have you wrap your head around the feelings and the emotions of what that means to you to be the champion? Gosh, not really. I don't know. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. I never done this before. But, you know, it's been chaotic. I've been traveling, going all about celebrating all amazing things.

00;35;51;13 - 00;36;07;09
Unknown
But in that same way, I don't think I've settled enough to kind of truly process it and not in the way I'm definitely a reflective person. I like to journal, like to meditate, so I feel like I haven't sat with it in the way I want. But with that said, I just don't know if it's ever going to be one of those things.

00;36;07;09 - 00;36;25;04
Unknown
It's like, my gosh, you did it. Like This is a dream I wrote about before I even wrestled. I'm just like, Yeah I want to go to the Olympics. I want to win. I don't know what sport, but we don't try, you know? So it's been 20, 25 years. And so to just accomplish something like that, I think always will feel kind of surreal for me.

00;36;25;06 - 00;36;42;16
Unknown
And that's okay. I think it's really cool and special and it can always kind of be that moment. But yeah, it is just absolutely a dream. I Don't even know I, I really don't even have the words. It's just something that's taking my breath away and I just really feel so grateful for it. Like I'll be sitting at home on the couch and just start laughing.

00;36;42;16 - 00;37;09;04
Unknown
My boyfriend's like, Well, we won. We won the Olympics. It's like, Seriously, what? Just hit me like that? It's just still unbelievable. I think that was really the biggest thing for me and I would just give to somebody else is like have had the courage to chase your dreams. It's worth it. Do it authentically and true to yourself, you know, being you.

00;37;09;06 - 00;37;32;14
Unknown
And you cannot fail if that's if that's how you're going about it. Right. We don't have to have we can have these big crazy dreams, you know, wanting to win gold medals and all of that. But within that, what is the type of person that you want to be? How do you want to chase those dreams? And if that is where your dedication and hard work and and everything is poured into, you cannot misstep.

00;37;32;17 - 00;37;58;22
Unknown
Yeah. Let's answer some questions. When you win a gold life steps on the gas stairs Days post Olympics are filled with travel celebrations catching up with friends, family and other VIPs. It's a shift for the two time Olympic medal winner, who, up until July of 2024, mostly stacked her calendar with a steady cycle of training, competition and recovery.

00;37;58;24 - 00;38;28;23
Unknown
Now she's attending photoshoots, sitting down with prominent media outlets and personalities, not to mention working in speaking engagements. And it makes sense her character, her friendly, positive and mindful approach to life and competition sets Sarah HILDEBRANDT Among the platinum level brand ambassadors for the Olympics and for women's wrestling. In our closing segment, we will learn why whatever comes next for Sarah, athletes of all shapes and sizes can and will look up to this five foot three champion.

00;38;28;25 - 00;38;58;24
Unknown
We're catching you ahead of a visit to the campus right here in District 49. It's the home of Spring Studio and Pikes Peak Early College. So I imagine you've been sharing your story a lot lately. And I'm wondering, did you ever see yourself as a frequent public speaker? I know. Yeah. No, I was just telling you guys just how like, it's that just like I never thought about this when I thought about my career as a wrestler like this, speaking portion that's been, you know, attached to it and a really great way.

00;38;58;24 - 00;39;26;22
Unknown
Like, I've met amazing people, I've gotten to speak to kids, and I think maybe people underestimate the inspiration and motivation that provides me. Like, I think sometimes I go to schools and stuff to speak to people and they're like, Yes, you can be this inspiration. And it's like actually just like vice versa. It's like so cool to interact with kids and to hear them their dreams and their goals and to just see their eyes light up Sometimes when they see a medal or anything like that, you know, it's just like it's really just like the fire in your own endeavor is in your own dreams.

00;39;26;22 - 00;39;42;22
Unknown
Like, my gosh, like I want to be better and the best I can be like myself up my little patch in the world, up that inspires others. And, you know, they reciprocate that back to you. It's like really cool thing. So I always love that piece of it, even if it's, you know, not ever something that I envisioned.

00;39;42;24 - 00;40;08;04
Unknown
Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Because you have a chance to do that again here just in a little while. And do you think it's important for young adults to have an opportunity to engage with athletes like yourself as they are kind of putting pieces together in their own lives? Absolutely. You know, like, everyone's story is so individual, so unique, and so people can just feel kind of isolated alone when they're chasing their dreams.

00;40;08;04 - 00;40;28;19
Unknown
And so just, you know, the more access they have to people who are achieving their goals or just on pursuit of their goals, they can pick tidbits that are relatable to them. They're not ever going to have a one size fits all story. So the more accessibility they have that people on that pursue or, you know, have accomplished dreams, the more that they can find relatability, they can find a piece of them.

00;40;28;19 - 00;40;49;20
Unknown
And that story they like. And maybe that's the nugget that pushes them just until they find the next speaker who kind of gives them something. You know? And and I think the more we're all sharing our stories, our experiences, it's like, you know, everybody's journey can kind of be their own personal self-help book. And it's out there, you know, take what you need, highlight what you want, and then you go to somebody else and and takes what is accessible from them.

00;40;49;20 - 00;41;10;16
Unknown
So definitely, the more the better. You know, I know my story will resonate with everyone, but maybe some part of it will. Absolutely. So Coach D, 49 is emerging as a leader, especially in girls wrestling here in Colorado. Would you agree with that? And what do you think about this? Sport is magnetic to up and coming athletes who would like to follow in Sarah's footsteps?

00;41;10;18 - 00;41;28;29
Unknown
Yeah, I think we definitely made some progress with some of the addition of some of the women's wrestling team in the district. And I know they compete well at the state level and just all around. And we have, I think all but maybe three or four states right now that don't have women's wrestling in high school as an official sport.

00;41;28;29 - 00;41;49;21
Unknown
So and I think they're working really hard about that. I think we have something like 200 plus universities right now with women's wrestling, including some Division one schools. So it's one of the if not the number one highest growing school sport in the country. So that tells you something. So the product is there, the interest is there. Right.

00;41;49;21 - 00;42;16;08
Unknown
So we just like every sport that you will find is followers. I think example of somebody like Sarah going through through her experiences and sharing some of those experiences can help somebody identify wrestling, specifically women's wrestling as a as a sport that they want to pursue. It's not easy sport. I don't know if there is such a thing as easy sport, but especially if want to accomplish something in anything really in life.

00;42;16;08 - 00;42;42;11
Unknown
But it's here to stay. You know, I think we have good examples of what was talked about, how valuable and important, say, wrestling specifically in athletics in general to do development of young man. Same thing for young women, you know, and wrestling will do exactly the same thing that we think it does to the boys. Right. So I think the more exposure they can have, the more opportunities they can have, the better everybody's going to be.

00;42;42;11 - 00;43;05;23
Unknown
Right? So we're always talking about the choice in our district, right, to having the choice of women's wrestling as a sport. You know, I think it's amazing. Yeah, fantastic. So, Sarah, you're from Indiana. You've you've been here in Colorado Springs long enough to kind of make it feel like a second home, I would think. As is it inspiring to you, as you see programs like ours here in D 49 kind of really catching hold and gaining in popularity?

00;43;05;28 - 00;43;30;11
Unknown
It's insane. my goodness. When I grew up, I was one of three women who wrestled in high school, like in the whole state. And now you have whole teams like multiple, multiple women on the team. Like there's a JV, there's a below that, like there's multiple in one weight class. Like it's insane. And you know, I feel old because it's not that long ago that I was in high school.

00;43;30;15 - 00;43;50;18
Unknown
It seems like it. And just the way that the sport has just exploded and it's just so cool to see. It's amazing to be a part of. And like I said, this type of stuff is so inspiring. Like it is certainly part of my own motivation is just to, you know, help continue to grow that platform so that those girls will have bigger and better things once they get to where I'm at.

00;43;50;18 - 00;44;16;22
Unknown
And then, you know, that just trickles down. And before you know it, this is like a huge, amazing thing that's changing lives. So absolutely. As wrestling is just something that the more people who have accessibility to it, the better. It it absolutely changed my life. I'm sure it has changed and will change countless others. It's been pretty incredible to watch just as a as an employee here at District 49, to watch it mature and start to see some real initial fire catch on.

00;44;16;25 - 00;44;41;21
Unknown
It completely makes sense. That perspective as well. So you guys, I really wanted to say thank you very much. Sarah HILDEBRANDT Coach ESI, thank you for being with us here today. Part two of this episode. We will talk more about the high performance program. So we're going to invite our listeners to come back on their next episode, learn a little bit more about what you're doing here in D 49 and why that special to our district and the state of Colorado and beyond, really.

00;44;41;21 - 00;45;07;04
Unknown
So that's going to be a great secondary piece to this episode. So we'll invite folks to come back. Guys, thanks so much for being with us. Have a great day. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Congrats, Sarah. Good. Thank you for listening to the 49 Voices podcast. Find all of our episodes anywhere you find your podcasts and on our website a D 49 dawg.

00;45;07;06 - 00;45;29;03
Unknown
We are always looking for topics to bring to you our listeners. If you have an idea, drop us a line any time at info a D 49 dawg. We'll be back soon with our next episode and always remember District 49 is the best choice to learn work in lead. We are the home of more than 30 distinct campuses where we launch every student to success in safe and welcoming learning environments wherever you want to go.

00;45;29;07 - 00;45;37;29
Unknown
D 49 is a great place to start.