‘Harder to Manage Success Than Failure Sometimes’: Valarie Allman Lauds Neeraj Chopra’s Back-to-back Olympic Podium Finishes

Valarie Allman, two-time Olympic gold medallist discus thrower, heaped praise on Indian javelin throw ace Neeraj Chopra on his silver at the Paris Olympics 2024 following up on his gold-winning showing at Tokyo 2020, sharing a champions’ perspective on living with the weight of success.

“It’s an incredibly difficult task to manage success. And I think sometimes it’s harder to manage success than it is a failure. And when you become an Olympic champion, it changes the chemistry of your mind and how you carry yourself,” said the champion athlete, who won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and recreated the magic three years later in Paris,” the 29-year-old said.

“You start to hold yourself to a higher standard and it’s easy to lose that magic of what got you there. You feel the pressure of needing to win. You feel the excitement of your country. There’s new endorsement opportunities and, I think, if you’re giving your best, you put yourself in that realm of being able to win,” the four-time Diamond League winner continued.

She touched upon the uncertainties that exist along the journey to triumph citing the factors that could sway the result on the day of the competition and lauded Neeraj’s effort to claim back-to-back podiums.

“There’s so many factors that have to come together on the day when centimetres can separate a performance. And, what Neeraj did to win the Olympics and win World Championships, he’s created an amazing string of global championships. For him to earn silver, the level of performance he’s at is worthy of a gold medal,” Allman added.

“I think it’s having that ambition, that drive that he captures so clearly is what gives you that opportunity to be able to win gold,” she said.

Double Olympics medallist shooter Manu Bhaker, who came to the spot by becoming the first Indian woman to claim two medals at the same edition of the Summer Games, came into criticism recently for walking the ramp at a fashion festival. Allman, however, left the decisions of the champions to the individual and stated there was nothing wrong in feeling pride in one’s achievement.

“I think it’s up to the champion to decide how they want to handle it. And there’s no denying it (Olympic medals) is an accolade worth celebrating. And to be proud and confident I think is something that you earn,” she said.

“To me, two medals is something that definitely… It’s a tough one, isn’t it? You’ve got to be proud of your achievement. And I’ve been waving them around in the air all the time if I had a couple of gold medals,” double-Olympic medallist Valarie added.

“These medals are beautiful, and they absolutely signify a dream that was hard to achieve. But I keep them in my sock drawer. It’s not something that I do find myself looking to or cherishing, but it’s really the journey, the people, the roller coaster, the fight that you have to pour in day in and day out is really what I’ve come to value,” she elucidated.

“It’s that internal challenge that you always have to face to be able to be vulnerable. When you go onto that global stage, it’s scary. And you have to find it deep within yourself to know that you’re prepared and ready and willing to go for it,” Allman concluded.