Interview
The importance of slowing down: A conversation with Summer Sanders

Summer Sanders competes at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Professional Sport/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Summer Sanders was the most decorated U.S. swimmer at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, winning four medals – two gold, a silver, and a bronze. She was also the back-to-back NCAA Swimmer of the Year, helping to lead Stanford University’s women’s swimming team to the 1992 national championship. After graduation, she went on to work for every major network as a host and sports commentator, including serving as a commentator for multiple Olympic Games. She is currently a cohost of “We Need To Talk,” CBS Sports’ award-winning show, and she is also the author of Champions Are Raised, Not Born: How My Parents Made Me a Success. She recently sat down with Anne Wicks, the Don Evans Family Managing Director of Opportunity and Democracy at the George W. Bush Institute, to discuss her Olympic experience, the mental health of athletes, and the changing dynamics of sports. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.  

Why do you think the Olympics continue to capture so much attention around the world?

I have loved the Olympic Games since I was very little because of my parents, because of my dad. My dad was a walking billboard for Team USA and the Olympic rings. But I think it’s also the lure of amateurism. We associate the Olympics with hardcore grittiness. Athletes are doing it for that one moment of glory every four years. You can’t redo anything. It’s equally exhilarating and devastating. There’s only one winner. There are only three podium spots.

In the summer of 1992, many eyes were on you in that pool in Barcelona, watching you win four medals. What was that experience like?

I recently saw a video of that last race, when I won my individual gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly. I was interviewed by NBC right after the race and was asked, “You must be so excited.” And I responded, “Oh my gosh, that was the most stressful week of my life. I never ever want to go through that again.”

I love my Olympic medals, and I love my Olympic moment, and I love the Olympics as a fan. But winning at the Olympics is just a whole other level of stress. I was 19. When you’re that young, it’s really hard to take it all in.

There are always a few names that break out during the Games. You were one – you were on the covers of magazines, you were interviewed on all the shows, you were on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes box. What was that like?

Well, after the Olympics, I went back to Stanford. Wednesdays were the only day we didn’t have morning practice, so I could sleep in and do all of my media interviews that day after class. But honestly, being around all of my Stanford people, keeping myself normal, that was the only way I could survive. I tried not to take anything too seriously.

I wrote papers about the tensions between being the chosen one and the post-Olympic blues, as they go hand-in-hand. It was a lot to handle, so I relied on my friends and my family and my coaches to stay grounded.

Summer Sanders celebrates winning one of her four medals at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Dimitri Iundt/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Geopolitics are never far from the Olympics. Heads of state often attend. Countries in conflict may compete against one another. There were famous Olympic boycotts at the height of the Cold War. Do the athletes pay attention to all of that?

I do think that there is this sense of pride in being on top of the total medal tally. We know who our geopolitical rivals are, and we’d like to stay on top. I want to represent my country and to be the best I possibly can be. But when I’m eating food in the Athletes Village cafeteria, I’ll get to know people on a personal level.

Athletes seem much more empowered today, particularly in college. Is that ultimately going to be good or bad for American sports?

I think there’s a huge shift happening in collegiate sports. I would love for everybody who cares about that medal count and those geopolitical rivalries to [remember] that we raise our Olympians through the NCAA model. We don’t have a plan B for the Olympics in the United States.

Do you think the surge in attention to women’s sports is going to stick? Is this the new normal, or just a moment?

I think it’s both. People know women’s basketball players. They know there is this chatter between Angel Reese and Caitlyn Clark, and they know Cameron Brink just tore her ACL. That’s a huge moment.

Another significant moment came during the 1996 Olympic Games, when the United States won gold in women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and women’s softball. There was just this surge, and then the WNBA came around in 1997. I think we are now at a point where female athletes understand their business power and their individual marketing power. If they’re smart with how they handle all of that, it will help grow women’s sports.

You are married to another former Olympian, skier Erik Schlopy, and you are the parents of two active and athletic teenagers. What advice do you have for other parents who are navigating youth sports, which doesn’t always bring out the best in the adults and can put a lot of pressure on kids?

I would say, slow down. No one should be in a hurry to be great. Greatness will find its way to your child, or your child will find their way to greatness. If your kid doesn’t make a certain travel team, no worries. You never know what’s going to happen later.

I never wished athletic greatness on my kids. I loved my experience, and I wouldn’t change my experience, but I really hoped to raise Renaissance kids. We very purposely moved to Spain for the year when Spider turned 11 and Skye turned 13. We wanted them to see that you can live a different type of a lifestyle that doesn’t have to be so intensely driven, and that they could experience a more holistic approach to success and happiness. Everyone said we would not be able to do it because the kids are going to be too into sports and too scheduled with their friends, but it was the greatest decision of our lives.

My suggestion for parents is not to buy into the idea that there is only one way to greatness. Really listen to your kids. Some kids are going to want to go hard; I was very driven like that. I wanted to join the swim team, but I quit twice. I wanted to be a cheerleader, and I thought I was missing out on the really fun things my friends were doing after school, so I quit. And my mom let me.

Take your kids on vacation, even if your coach says it isn’t a good time. Take your kids on vacation if you feel your kid needs fun. My mom felt like the least she could do was match my level of commitment. If you do have an ultrafocused and driven kid, match their commitment and check in with them often.

Summer Sanders speaks to the media at the Team USA Media Summit on April 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images for the USOPC)

The Paris Olympic Games start very soon. Simone Biles will be back competing in women’s gymnastics. She famously stepped away during the Tokyo Games in 2021 to care for her mental health, so it’s terrific to see her return. What do you think her journey signals to the other athletes and to the fans? 

We look at Olympians as being these perfect individuals, especially the gold medalists like Simone. They don’t mess up, they don’t do anything wrong. They don’t have bad days. It’s all glory and excitement. But when you win a gold medal, you’re forever known as a gold medalist or the best in the world, and that can be hard to live up to when you’re so young. We have an adolescent brain until we’re 25.

I thought it was so brave of [Biles] to talk about her mental health. I also thought the world was ready to hear it. Olympians have been talking [to one another] about mental health for a very long time, but there wasn’t a public outlet for it. Now athletes have platforms to explain what is going on with them personally – to say, you perceive me one way, but I am not OK, and I need to get myself better. A lot of people can relate to that. Not being perfect is relatable. All of a sudden, that became OK. I thought it was just wonderful and beautiful, and now Simone Biles is back on her own terms. So just send her and the other athletes love through the airwaves during the Games. And send them love months after the Games, because that’s when the Olympic blues set in.

What are you most excited to watch during the Games in Paris?

My daughter was a rugby player, so I want to see the rugby sevens. Of course, I want to see swimming. One of the greatest moments in the history of all of sports is the start of the men’s or women’s 100 meters in track. There will be about 80,000 fans in the venue, and it will be as quiet as anything can be; if you dropped a pencil on the ground at the start, everyone would hear it. Then the gun goes off and the flashbulbs and phones go off. It’s such a pure moment of everyone working together. I just love it.

You have lived a full professional life. What lessons have served you well as you have built a life beyond the pool?

Do the things that scare you; they will make you stronger. You’ll feel an intense sense of accomplishment, and you’ll grow from it.

Joy is the secret to greatness. It’s not going to be joyful all the time, but if you’re not loving what you’re doing, you have to step back for a second and try to figure it out. Always connect with your goal, your dream. Writing it down and saying it out loud are two very effective ways to make your goals and dreams come true.

Finally, there is no easy way to greatness. That’s why I tell parents to slow down. It is intense, hard work. Natural talent gets you to a certain level, but guess what – there are a lot of kids who succeed and who don’t have the same natural talent but just know how to work hard. I was also much better when I was on a team. I was in an individual sport, but my greatest achievement was winning that NCAA championship with Stanford University as a team in 1992. So don’t rush. Don’t skip stages. Every part of the process – good or bad – is a chapter of your story. You need it all to create your book.