Olympic Hopeful's Guide to Mental and Physical Strength
February 10, 2026 | Episode 56
Producer’s Note: The following is an AI-generated transcript of The Wellness Conversation, an OhioHealth Podcast
SPEAKERS: Marcus Thorpe, Lindsey Gordon, Hannah Gaskins
Marcus Thorpe 0:00
What does it take to achieve your biggest health goals, both mentally and physically? Welcome to the wellness conversation and OhioHealth Podcast. I'm Marcus Thorpe.
Lindsay Gordon 0:14
And I'm Lindsay Gordon. In this inspiring episode, we're sitting down with Hannah Gaskins, a world class athlete with Olympic dreams.
Marcus Thorpe 0:22
We're super excited. Hannah is going to share routines, mindset, some moments of self doubt behind some of her journeys and a recent health setback. We're going to discuss how lessons that she has learned can help you build strength, resilience and even some confidence in your own life.
Lindsey Gordon 0:37
So whether you're training for your first 5k or simply trying to show up for someone or yourself every day, this conversation will leave you motivated to set goals that stick and celebrate the small wins along the way. Hannah Gaskins, thank you so much for being with us today. We're so excited to talk with you.
Hannah Gaskins 0:52
Thank you so much. I'm really happy to be here.
Lindsay Gordon 0:55
Your story is so inspiring. But before we get to that, let's talk about skeleton. Just the basics with that. What is it? And, you know, the Olympics are up and running now. People are probably seeing it on TV. What is it exactly?
Hannah Gaskins 1:10
So skeleton, I like to kind of start off with bobsled whenever I talk about skeleton, because everyone knows what Bob said. Well, not everyone, but a lot of people know cool running. Yes, that's they've seen that. But skeleton is a sister sport to bobsled, so we use the same track. However, it's a different sled. It's one person on the sled. You're going head first, down in ice track, like down a mountain.
Lindsey Gordon 1:38
It makes my stomach flip flip thinking about it.
Marcus Thorpe 1:40
I've seen it, and it is like, how on earth did people find this and why are you doing it?
Hannah Gaskins 1:46
Yes, that was something that I always thought too. Like, why throw yourself down and I smile? Like, why do that? Why risk your life like that? But hey, here I am. I this was not something that I dreamed of doing when I was kid, not this sport in particular.
Lindsay Gordon 2:00
I love that it wasn't expected. But here you are, yeah,
Marcus Thorpe 2:04
Living in central Ohio, which is awesome. We can call you one of our own, which is great. It's not really a winter sport hub, I would say, for Olympic hopefuls and dreamers and those kind of things. So talk about your path. How did you find your way here? How did you make this Olympic dream, something that you said, you know, I can see myself doing this.
Hannah Gaskins 2:24
Yeah, wow. My path has been up and down and all around so starting out, Charlotte, North Carolina native, growing up, I actually did not play sports like when I was, like a young kid, until I got to, like, maybe seventh, eighth grade, and that's where I picked up basketball, volleyball, and then eventually track and field when I got to high school. So moving to Reynoldsburg, Ohio, I went to Reynoldsburg High School, played basketball, track, did volleyball as well, and I definitely found like a love for track. However, basketball was what I had my heart set on, like I am a basketball girl, but senior year, I had to make the decision, like, what was I going to do? I didn't know what college I was going to go to. I didn't know if I was going to play a sport in college, but I ended up getting a scholarship to Cleveland State University, and I it was only got, like a $2,000 scholarship to go there, but I thought I should go there. I just had faith that it was going to bring about what I had always been wanting. And as you know, in middle school, I kind of set, I've had the mindset of, I want to one day go pro or Olympic, like I had those dreams of doing something big within sport at a young age. So I ended up going to Cleveland State, then after two years, transferring to Hawaii, the University of Hawaii, and
Marcus Thorpe 3:58
That's a good upgrade.
Hannah Gaskins 3:58
It was.
Lindsey Gordon 4:00
We're getting farther and farther away from what I imagine skeleton like you're not doing skeleton in Hawaii. So help this makes sense.
Hannah Gaskins 4:06
Exactly.
Lindsey Gordon 4:06
This story is twisty, turny.
Hannah Gaskins 4:10
So I transferred their junior year, but last two years was covid years, so I didn't have a outdoor season my junior year, and I didn't have an indoor or outdoor season for my senior year, partly because I've struggled with an injury too. But so after that, I was wondering, what could I do like I know this dream is still within me. I know I have the potential, and I want to see it flourish. So I was looking into doing like pro track and field. I actually went out to a meet. Did terrible in the meet, and I was just like, Oh, my goodness, God, what do you want me to do? But then I was talking to my cousin one day, and we were talking about Bob sled, and we're like, you know, talking about how track and field athletes, football players, they have explosiveness, and you need that at. The start of the race. So, and that's what a lot of people don't know too, is that in order to get the sled going, you have to sprint really fast before jumping on the sled. And that's how you have to be fast, you have to be strong, all of that. So I looked into it, and I was like, okay, and I saw there was a combine online, and I was like, maybe I could do this combine. So I did it. It wasn't my best combine ever anything. But, you know, I did it, submitted it, and one day, I was getting my Master's at the time, but I was working at Wesley Ridge senior living, and we were working, I was working in the dining room, and I'd gotten a text I probably shouldn't have, like, brought my phone out while I was working or anything, but not a text and email, and it was from the Olympic Training Center. They said I was invited to come up for a rookie training camp for Bob's led skeleton. Wow. And I was extremely, like, excited.
Lindsey Gordon 5:59
What was that moment like for you? What was going through your mind?
Hannah Gaskins 6:02
It was, I was really excited. I went home, told my parents, and my mom, at first was like, This is not real. Like, it's not real. And I was like, Are you doubting my abilities? But my dad was really excited. He's my dad was in he's an ex football player, NFL player, so he has been through the pro athletics and stuff. So he was pretty excited for me. So, yeah, I got invited to do bobsled skeleton. And at first, I
Lindsey Gordon 6:34
I need to know too, though. Like, what was it like for you that first time going head first? Down that oh, man, down that slide. It's not a slide, it's not a slide. Slides putting it lightly. What do you call it?
Hannah Gaskins 6:44
The track, the track, yeah, ice track. Yep, it is basically slide. I like to call it like a slip and slide, yeah.
Lindsey Gordon 6:52
What was that like? Like, were you terrified? Did you love it?
Hannah Gaskins 6:56
Yeah, So when I we went from a lower start, so when you first start out. So there's about 15 curves on this track. It I was in Park City, Utah, 16 or, sorry, 15 curves.
Lindsay Gordon 7:09
Curves like you twist and turn. Yes.
Hannah Gaskins 7:12
Okay. So we went from curve six starting out, so we didn't go all the way up to the top. So they were like, it's going to be slower than it would be from the top. I was like, okay, but I was still so nervous, teeth chattering, I was extremely nervous. And then I went down, got to the bottom, and I was fine. I was like, I want to do that again. That was so cool. So yeah, I knew after the first one, I was like, that is so fun. Yes, I love it.
Marcus Thorpe 7:42
Yeah, like Herschel Walker, who played in the NFL. I think he did bobsled for a little while too, because, again, it's that sprint right off the bat, and your track and field probably served you well. People who are listening are not going to be Olympic hopefuls. So we want to try to, like, bring it down to their level. Also say, you know, what can you take from this amazing athlete who, mentally and physically has been at her peak like you have, and maybe bring some of that into like our run of the mill live. So can you talk about kind of goal setting? I think that's a big thing that, you know, we're in February. Now, people are starting to think, have I followed through on what I set in January for my goals. How do you go about goal setting on an everyday, every week basis for yourself?
Hannah Gaskins 8:26
Yeah, so every week, I usually like to start the week with having goals for my week, and then I have this I have actually have a devotional for my daily routine as well, and I like to do gratitude journaling, just because it gets my day started on a positive note. And when you're thinking positive, like there's no way for that negativity to be in there. So when you're thinking about gratitude, what you're grateful for, it's so hard to think about the negatives. So I like to start with that, and then, like the goals, my goals daily can change. It changes day to day. And I'd say, for someone who's not an Olympic athlete or anything like that, I would say to to start with doing some daily goals and to incorporate some positivity in there, some journaling and things like that,
Marcus Thorpe 9:21
yeah, because you're gonna have setbacks, right? I mean, you're not gonna stick to every single thing that you set, and you're gonna have things that push you back a little bit. And so having realistic expectations, I think, even for you absolutely, it's a big part of your life, isn't it big part of your day?
Hannah Gaskins 9:35
Yes, yeah. And with skeleton and like in general, you're always going to have different goals, like me being a rookie athlete, there's so many small goals that I have to make meet before getting to that big picture and applying this to daily life. If you have, and I like to say, dream big, so athlete or not, like, whatever you're doing right now, like. How do you want to make a part like, what can you do? What can you see yourself doing? Whatever it is if you're working in the office, even if you know you're a mailman, whatever, like, how can you do what you're doing to the fullest and then work on those small goals to see how you can get to that big one? Write them out. I love to write writing it out, getting it out your mind and on the paper. And I like talking about it, saying it out loud, creating affirmations throughout the day to keep your mind going and to make sure that you know you don't leave room for the negativity to kind of flow in and take over your mind.
Lindsey Gordon 10:35
Because it can take over and then you're stuck on that loop.
Hannah Gaskins 10:37
Absolutely.
Lindsey Gordon 10:39
Talk about your you have another professional life too, and your in your background too, if you want to talk about you are clinically licensed in this space, too, with mental health, right?
Hannah Gaskins 10:51
Yes, I am. I am a licensed professional counselor. I got my degree from The Ohio State University, O H, and I work with people who have struggled with anxiety, depression, you know, man, some bipolar, some mood disorders and different things like that. I work with college kids, high schoolers, people who are older in age, and the biggest thing that I see is cognitive distortions we talk about that that's just basically, like, negative thoughts that replay in your mind that aren't factual. So a lot of people struggle with, like, the self doubt and different things like that. And how we combat those is challenging those thoughts, and that's something that I've found myself having to do. You know, of course, I tell my clients to do this, but this is something that I've actually found that I have had to do throughout this experience of being an athlete. Self doubt comes, setbacks come and things like that. And it's tough. It really is tough. But remembering that, okay, let me challenge some of these distortions that I'm having, and let's, let's figure it out going the positive route, rather than stuck being stuck in these negative thoughts.
Lindsey Gordon 12:13
How do you break that cycle of negative thoughts.
Marcus Thorpe 12:15
It's so easy to tell yourself a false narrative, to be like,
Lindsey Gordon 12:18
We all do it. Yeah, it's rough. We all do it no matter where you are. Okay? We've brought up the theme of setbacks. Do you want to kind of take it from here with a recent setback you've had? Because I think there's something to be there's a lesson that anyone can learn from your story. So I'll kind of let you take it from here. I don't want to speak for you.
Hannah Gaskins 12:41
Yeah, no. I man. So something that I've been struggling right now with is an injury. And you know, of course, it is Olympic year. It's, it's a really, really big year. This year was going to be my first year that I would go on to go to Europe and train and slide, and my first year learning those tracks out there, and it's supposed to be a really important year. So starting the off season in the summertime, I committed to living at the Olympic Training Center and training there the entire summer. Throughout the summer, I saw so many gains, so many I was my fastest and my strongest that I had ever been in my life. And so I just saw everything, everything that I had poured in I was getting out. Wow, I Yes. So towards the end of the summer, the time where we were getting ready for push champs, and so I start, I talk about the start of the race is really important. So we do have a competition for that at the beginning of the season. Doesn't really mean much for the season. It's just a check mark off the list. So that's what we were really working on the summer. So heading into push champs, I had felt some pain in my ribs, and I didn't really pay much attention to it. I was just like, Okay, this is something that I could work through. Could work through. And not to mention I was also struggling with another injury the entire summer. I tore a late I have a small labrum tear in my hip, and so that was affecting a lot of what was going on during the summer, but I still was able to push through. And so when I felt this pain, I'm like, this is not going to set me back. You know, we're getting closer to push champs, closer to the season. I am not going to, you know, hold anything back. I don't want to rest. And so I, long story short, I ended up pushing through, push through push. Champs did not do how I wanted because I was injured. It was getting worse, progressively, and now I'm I was set back, so went out to Park City getting ready for selection races, which is tells who gets on World Cup, gets on Europa Cup and North American Cup. And I couldn't even compete because I wasn't listening to my body. I wasn't trusting the process. Yeah, and so I've, I've learned a lot from this. And, you know, I got some news that it was going to be some weeks, and from another doctor, they said it was probably going to be months until I'd be able to get back at it.
Lindsey Gordon 15:14
I'm so sorry.
Hannah Gaskins 15:15
Yeah, thank you.
Lindsay Gordon 15:16
I'm really sorry you worked so hard for this moment.
Hannah Gaskins 15:18
Yeah, and I had a lot of self blaming and things like that, because I'm like, man, like you dedicated this entire summer, and you just let it go to waste by pushing through something that you didn't even need to you made it much worse. So I kept telling myself those things, and those are some of the cognitive distortions I was talking about. Because honestly, like, I feel like most any athlete would probably push through that, like it felt so small. Yeah, you're gonna want to push as hard as you can, exactly, and then I had to look at the bigger picture. So I plan on doing the sport until 2034 at least 2034 so I'm thinking like, I don't want to make it, you know, so bad to the point where I can't do anything further. I don't want it to be career ending. And that's what the doctors were saying, like, you need to make sure this isn't something that you deal with your entire career. You want to make sure that it heals. So taking that step and saying, like, Okay, I'm going to do this for me, for my health. I need to put my health first. That was really challenging. It's been. I've been crying a lot, honestly, like just putting it out there, like I've been crying a lot. I've been, you know, praying a lot. And I think it does have a lot to do with grief, grieving, what I thought this season was going to look like. And so yeah, and yeah,
Lindsey Gordon 16:44
Thank you for being so real.
Marcus Thorpe 16:45
Yeah, yeah. I think it's important to think about that too. We had a grief episode in November, and our expert gene was talking about grief isn't just the loss of a person, a death. Sometimes it's the loss of a dream for now, or putting something that you thought you were going to get away for a little while. And so it's, it's, it's a journey for everybody and and we applaud you sharing that I want to talk about. I think this is relatable for a lot of people, that you can go to a dark place unfortunately, when you get a setback in life or in your job or those kind of things. How do you find the strength to pull yourself out of that? For you, what was it that said, I can't let this rule me, because I've got so many other things I need to do and give to people.
Hannah Gaskins 17:33
Oh, man, I think for me, it was recognizing. It was an identity check. Because for me, sports have been a part of my life for a long time. I know we were talking about that, yeah, like, sports have been a part of my life for a while, and so now not being able to when I got this injury, when it got worse, it was to the point where I couldn't, like, lift, I couldn't even bike without feeling the pain. So I had to sit out from doing anything. You said, sneezing hurt. Sneezing hurts, coughing hurts, laughing hard, hurts like it's just, man, it was miserable. And it's, of course, gotten better since I've, like, rested completely. But oh, man, what was the question that you asked? I feel like I got off track.
Marcus Thorpe 18:17
I think it's like, how do you pull yourself away from these things that are putting you in a hole, when you're just like, oh, I don't know how I'm going to dig myself out of that. What was it that made you go? I've got it. I've got to keep going. I've got to for myself and for my people.
Hannah Gaskins 18:32
Yeah, it's for me. Looking at the bigger picture always helps me. So just looking at the bigger picture, not only that, but community. So coming back home, instead of staying out there in Utah and watching my teammates compete, of course, I wanted to, but I knew that I needed to go back home and heal up. Because if I was staying out there watching, oh man, it would. It would have put me in a place where I felt like man, like I could have done this like I could have just pushed through so I needed to be home with my family, with people that care about me, and I mean, my teammates, they've supported me. It was actually crazy, because when I did get the report that I was going to be out, the doctor was saying, like, it you should have like, you should sit out for three months in order to get this completely healed, they called me and they didn't even know that I had just gotten that report, and they each called me individually, and was like, Hey, what's going on? Are you okay? And I needed that. I needed to hear that, and that made me feel so much better. They told me about their journeys and setbacks. One of my teammates, Michelle, she talked about how she was set back like three times. She couldn't compete three selection times in a row because of an injury. And she's been doing this for so long, and so it's just encouraging just seeing other people's stories.
Lindsey Gordon 19:55
Is that intuition amazing? They had a feeling they needed to check in on you. Yes. Yes. I mean, that's crazy, like, the power of being part of a team. Yeah, absolutely, wow. What I think is so amazing, too, about your story, for women especially, is growing up playing sports. You know, someday you're going to reach the end of the road. I mean, for all athletes, right, like very few go on to become professionals, regardless of your gender, but for women, you know, we talked about the scholarship money. It's like, you know, scholarship money is less, you know, there's just less and less opportunities for women to keep going, keep playing. And I remember that feeling of like, you know, it was done, that's it. One day, it's all over. And your identity was so much tied my identity was so much tied to those sports I played. And I love that you brought that up about it was an identity check in the moment. You know, this is my purpose, this is my passion, but don't let it define you. Yes, so how, what's your mindset going forward? And like, how do you how do you think about that marching forward?
Hannah Gaskins 20:58
Man, so think about it marching forward. Instead of saying, like, Hi, I'm an athlete first. No, my name is Hannah. Like, I'm Hannah Gaskins first. And I there's much more to me than just, like, playing a sport. Yeah, there is a bigger picture, a bigger purpose. And I believe that for me, my purpose isn't necessarily just to play a sport, it's also to help others. I feel like many of us are called to be here to help others, to inspire other people, and that's what I want to do, no matter what it is. So I'm just trusting the journey. I'm trusting what God has, you know, lined up ahead of me, and just like trusting the path that I'm on, that's, yeah.
Marcus Thorpe 21:39
I love that. It's not often we get the chance to talk to Olympic hopefuls, and health and wellness is such a big part of you and your life. So I want to give people, as we kind of wrap up our episode, some take home lessons about starting fitness routines, building better habits and those kind of things. Can you talk about first steps when it comes to those kind of things that people can take on their everyday Journey to Health and Wellness. Absolutely.
Hannah Gaskins 22:03
If we're talking about fitness, I'd say, if you aren't used to working out and things, find a coach. For sure. I think it's good having someone to hold you accountable. Accountability partners are everything, and that's something that I learned this past summer being at the Olympic Training Center. So definitely accountability. And as I've said before, writing down the goal. Write down the goal, make a vision board of what you want to do. So if you're already into fitness and you want to lift a heavy weight, like a heavy I don't know if you want to go for 500 pounds or whatever, maybe put that weight on the bar, take a picture of it, and just get under the bar and just see, you know, see how that feels. You want to already see yourself doing it before you do it.
Marcus Thorpe 22:53
Mindset.
Hannah Gaskins 22:53
Yes.
Lindsey Gordon 22:54
I love that that can be applied to so much.
Marcus Thorpe 22:57
How about small wins when you're starting these journeys, you can go, I feel like I'm failing, but sometimes that small win is literally just getting to the gym. Yes. I mean, celebrate that. I think it's important, isn't it?
Hannah Gaskins 23:09
Yes, absolutely, those small wins are very important. I think small wins can help you for when, let's say, like you have this big goal of, you know, I want to maybe lose like, 30 pounds, or whatever it is, but let's say you're on a roll for the first week, and then you have, like, a small setback, and then you're set back, and mentally you're just not there because you're so focused on this huge number, like, it's so hard for you to accept those small wins. And so that's why I think that's a great point of just having those small wins so that you can keep moving forward. Like, okay, there is a setback right now. Maybe, you know, you got sick and you had to step back from the gym for a couple of days, like, okay, you know, next my small win will be to get healthy, and then next my small win will be to get back in the gym again. You know, it's just step by step. The big, big big goals are all they always look so pretty, and then the small ones are always like, but those are what counts. That's what got me to where I am today, and those are what I'm going to use to help me get to my dream, going to the Olympics.
Marcus Thorpe 24:15
We can't wait to watch what happens with you and where you go, and we'll be cheering hard. Yeah, for you. And as you chase your dream, it's awesome.
Hannah Gaskins 24:24
Thank you.
Lindsay Gordon 24:24
This is one of my favorite episodes. I say that every time, but I for real. Mean it this. I'm like, I for real. You're just so inspirational. And thank you for being so real. Because I think a lot of people are afraid to be honest and and admit you know you were on track. You've done media interviews like about going to the Olympics, right I have and now here we are, where you are watching it with the rest of us and you, that's got to be hard and so thank you so much, because even if you helped one person listening, this was all worth it to share your story.
Hannah Gaskins 24:57
Yeah, I appreciate it. I Yeah. I honestly was when you had emailed me, I was like, okay, and then after I got the news I was going to be going back home, I was like, Oh no. Like, I don't even think I should do this. Like, why am I going on an interview if, like, my season could be over? Yeah, you know, just having all these thoughts. And so then after talking to you, it made me feel better. And this, I think that it's really healthy talking about these things.
Marcus Thorpe 25:20
You got a lot to give. A lot. Doesn't matter if you're at the Olympics or an Olympic hopeful, you've got a lot to give, right? Especially for our listeners and for us. You know it's inspiring to to hear your story and know where you came from and and to believe in yourself. It's cool. So thank you. Thanks for joining us. Any place that people can follow you on social media, why don't you share some of that with us.
Hannah Gaskins 25:40
So Instagram, you can follow me, HannahGaskins_ and then Facebook, Hannah Gaskins, that's really the only social media I have, but yeah, go there and follow along the journey.
Marcus Thorpe 25:51
I love it. Well, thanks. Thanks, Hannah for joining us. We really appreciate it.
Hannah Gaskins 25:54
Thank you.
Marcus Thorpe 25:55
And of course, we'd like to thank our listeners for joining us for this episode of the wellness conversation and OhioHealth podcast. Before we wrap up, we invite you to follow us on all major social channels, so you can stay up to date on any new episodes as well as health and wellness topics. If you're looking for more information on any services or locations with OhioHealth, it's all at OhioHealth.com
Lindsey Gordon 26:15
And the information in this episode is available in written form at our website, OhioHealth.com/TheWellnessConversation. Thank you so much for listening in. Be sure to subscribe as we continue to explore important in health and wellness topics that are important to you.