Kate Ziegler
Episode 70
1 JUNE 2020
A two-time Olympian (London 2012 & Beijing 2008), four-time World Champion and a world record setter. In total she won 15 medals in international competition. She retired from swimming in 2016 and has since earned her MBA and helped launch two companies. She is a holistic high-performance coach and a national speaker. As a youngster she had also played softball and basketball.
Notable guest quotes:
“We were raised in the Catholic faith. So, went to church every Sunday, grew up going to CCD and getting all the sacraments and that was a really significant part of my upbringing.”
“Most kids don’t want to go to Catholic high school because of uniforms or they think it’s going to be boring, and, I was the kid who begged to switch from public school to Catholic school.”
“I think (my parents) were also a little taken aback by a twelve-year old saying, ‘Can I get more religion in my life,’ but that was me.”
“I think it was less me choosing the water and (more) the water choosing me.”
“My mom would hide little cards in my bag, my suitcase, my swim bag… These little cards really encouraged me… Every single one she would write a Bible verse in it for me. And she would remind me of how much the Lord loved me, whether I won, whether I lost, no matter the performance, she would remind me that she loves me and that God has got me in His hands.”
“God is faithful and so good and He helped me. He answered that prayer but in a way that I never expected.”
“As much as swimming gave me wonderful blessings… I also, at a pretty early age… I desperately wanted validation and love… And I started to see God as almost like a bank teller. ‘Here, I’ll make my deposit now. You give me something in return.’ And, that is so far from the relationship that I now have. Thank you, praise the Lord that He has healed me and helped me get out of really this prison of a performance-based identity and now instead I see my identity in Christ.”
“Since retiring from swimming I started working with athletes on how to change their mindset so that they can really get all the blessings out of a sport. Perform to the best of their ability but also not over-identify, not become so really constrained by the fear and doubts and insecurity of losing that they lose their faith.”
“From a faith perspective, when I faced challenges there were times where I really leaned on the Lord. And there were times where I saw adversity as some sort of punishment.”
“One of my Bible study teachers, she said, ‘We can either control or we can have faith, but you can’t have both. So, which do you choose’?”
“At the end of the day the Lord has the best plans and we’ve just got to trust in that.”
“I had this mistaken belief that I could just do it alone. And what I realized was ohh how mistaken I am. The Lord created us to be in community. And He has blessed me so profoundly with incredible mentors, friends, spiritual guides in my life from the most unexpected people.”
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