Morgan Lake talks teaching, method, and chasing 2 meters
In 2021, Morgan Lake discovered herself with no coach as her present coach was suspended. She requested Robbie Grabarz – a former Olympic silver medallist – to assist her to the Tokyo Video games. What began as seeing him a few times every week developed into him being her coach in 2022
Morgan says of their working relationship: “Clearly, he’s acquired that championship mindset, having gained an Olympic medal and being a European champion. He’s been there and executed it, and I believe for me it’s then simpler for me to have the ability to give over that belief is often because I’m considering, ‘OK, he’s executed it earlier than,’ and that he wouldn’t have me do one thing which he didn’t assume labored. So, I believe the belief ingredient is a extremely large factor for the mindset of going to a championship. Simply the truth that it must be a little bit bit totally different to another competitors. It’s: ‘The place can you discover these little positive factors whenever you get to the championships?’ Many women can be leaping the identical heights, be it related degree, or how you retain calm and relaxed by these championships.
“And for me, one of many largest issues that Robbie helped me with final season was being calm on the majors. I acquired my opening excessive on the third try in qualifying in Budapest, which was such a nerve-wracking second, however for that third try, he stated, ‘Simply breathe and keep calm and simply soar it.’ And I believe after that I used to be OK. I’m making it out to be an enormous factor, and a lot stress that it’s only a excessive soar on the finish of the day. You’re it’s doing the identical factor you observe to do. So, I believe mentality is the largest factor”.
I find it irresistible whenever you ask a area athlete about their method, and so they appear to be they may speak about all of it day! Morgan had so much to say about method and coaching. “My method has modified so much, and I didn’t actually understand it, however I used to be wanting again at movies from the Rio Olympics, and I used to be unrecognizable. At the moment, I went off a rolling begin; I name it a brief strategy now. That’s a very good rolling 8-7 or eight stride strategy. My operating seems to be totally different. I used to be coaching as a heptathlete in 2016, so I didn’t have as a lot time to work on the technical aspect of the run-up. It was just about simply pure pace and energy, however now I believe it’s much more about rhythm, and I suppose I simply have extra time to work on that technical ingredient. I didn’t understand it had modified that a lot. However it positively has. Even wanting again at 2018, once I determined to go from a standing 10-stride strategy, simply the best way I assault bars now’s so totally different from again then, and that’s once I acquired my silver medal within the 2018 Commonwealth Video games in Gold Coast. So, I didn’t understand how a lot it modified till I seemed again through the years, but it surely positively has.
“In winter, my coaching is tremendous assorted, nearly like heptathlon coaching. So we’ll do longer endurance grass runs, lots of cardio work, very first thing simply to get our health up, normal conditioning and hurdles. I like winter coaching. Then, as soon as we begin leaping, I’ll most likely soar about twice every week and do S&C thrice every week. After which I do bounding plyometric stuff with Aston Moore and the lengthy jumpers – together with Jazz Sawyers and KJT – as soon as every week. So, it’s fairly good and assorted, and it’s not all about simply the technical aspect of the excessive soar. In terms of summer season, it’s much more targeted on the ability of the excessive soar”.
For ladies excessive jumpers, 2m is the holy grail. Morgan has been shut however has not fairly acquired there. The closest was 1.99 indoors in Hustopeče, Czech Republic, final 12 months. She has cleared 1.97 4 occasions, together with for 4th place within the 2023 World Champs, and executed three 1.95s, together with the 2017 London World Champs. She did 1.95 on the Tokyo Olympics qualifying however couldn’t compete within the last. How shut does she assume she is to 2m – and does it matter?
“It’s a bizarre one. I believe as quickly as I jumped 1.90 once I was, I believe,16, I’ve been, ‘proper. The following aim is 2 meters. For the final 10-11 years, I’ve thought I might soar 2 meters. And I imply, each single 12 months, I believe I’m shut. Final 12 months was positively the closest I’ve come to it with the 1.99; I had a number of makes an attempt at 2:01. I believe I’ll have tried it twice or thrice final season, and it by no means felt like I wasn’t shut. I believe it’s a kind of issues that may occur naturally. I believe it’s a kind of issues that may happen in a championship or in a high-level competitors the place I’m not chasing it. Once I’m simply making an attempt to attempt to win. I’m making an attempt to medal. And I do know that to be up there, I must soar these heights. I do assume it’s positively in me. It’s simply extra a case of when? As a result of the distinction between 1.99 and two meters is completely nothing. Simply gotta get by the heights. This time final 12 months I used to be perhaps chasing it an excessive amount of, so I’d nearly be fascinated about leaping 2 metres earlier than I even cleared 1.90. You possibly can choose any top within the excessive soar and pole vault. You possibly can simply go into a contest, begin at 2 meters, and take 3 makes an attempt! I believe it’s one factor that’s gonna need to occur.
In 2014, Morgan gained gold within the World U20 heptathlon and got here sixth within the World Indoors Pentathlon. I questioned if she fancied a crack on the Olympic heptathlon and excessive soar in Paris: “They’re on the identical day. So it is perhaps a bit onerous!”
She added: “There have been positively a number of years the place I used to be actually rethinking if I had made the appropriate determination simply to do the excessive soar: or ought to I return to the heptathlon? I’ve been actually proud of my determination for the final couple of years. However I’ve at all times stated I’d like to do a pentathlon once more. I believe doing a full heptathlon could be a bit troublesome, however doing a pentathlon once more, perhaps subsequent 12 months or the 12 months after, as soon as Paris is out of the best way. Simply because the pentathlon coaching is so much simpler. Properly, it’s not simpler, but it surely’s higher for my excessive soar when it’s 60 hurdles, or javelin and 200m. The quick energy coaching would solely ever assist my excessive soar. So I’ll do a pentathlon in the future, however most likely to not the extent I’ve been at on the world stage”.
