00:00Female sprinter Leah Bertrand is a problem solver. Since joining Ohio State
00:04University she has become a five-time a Big Ten champion, two-time national 100
00:09meter champion, NACAC under-20 silver medalist and Olympics semi-finalist.
00:14Before signing up to pursue qualifications in health and
00:17rehabilitation science with a minor in nutrition, she didn't know exactly what
00:21destiny had in store. One major thing which took me almost two and a half
00:27years to get over was something called imposter syndrome, which is basically
00:33when you sell yourself short or you tell yourself that you're not good enough in
00:38that kind of way. So my freshman year, which is my first year at college, I
00:43actually did really good. I was able to make personal bests almost every meet. I
00:50made it on the 4x1 team at nationals, which is like a big achievement for
00:56somebody who in their first year. Bertrand made it as far as the world
01:00championships, but she still doubted whether or not she had a place amongst
01:04the elites. My goal was to make the finals, but thinking I seen it out loud
01:09it just didn't sound right. Like that was one of my first big meets. I was like,
01:12how am I gonna make this finals with all these fast people, with Shellyanne, with
01:15this one, with that one. I was just thinking, nah man, like I can't, I don't, and I
01:21started doubting myself. And once the doubt entered, that's when I knew I was
01:26already, I had the wrong mentality. One thing about sports is that you could
01:31train how much ever you want, you could be the hardest working person, but if
01:35your mentality not right, it's not gonna come together. She indicated the Olympics
01:40provided a moment where she was able to overcome self-doubt. Going into this year,
01:45at the Olympics, my goal was to forget, like to pass that, to go past that block
01:52that I had created for myself. And I was like, this time, I'm going, I'm going
01:56further. I want to make the finals again. This year, I was like, I'm going to make the
02:00finals. And going in with that mentality, I fully believed that I was going to do
02:04it. And although I didn't make the finals, I was able to make the semifinals. So I
02:08feel like that, in itself, was a win for me, to be able to overcome those doubts
02:14that I had. Bertrand's journey continues at age 22, as she intends to be the
02:18imposter, taking down the elites on the track. Sergio Lufo, Taste Export.
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