Morgan Lake was the youngest British athlete in the track and field team at Rio 2016 but now heads to Paris as a medal hopeful buoyed by the experiences she has gained in the meantime.
Lake was just 19 when she became the first woman to make an Olympic high jump final since 1992 and is now a six-time British champion. Breaking through glass ceilings has become part of the day job.
Yet despite this success, one coveted piece of silverware has continued to evade the high jumper. An Olympic medal.
That could be about to change as the 27-year-old looks to replicate her latest top of the podium finish in June’s UK Athletics Championships on the biggest sporting stage of all.
“The Olympics is the pinnacle of sport in my eyes,” she said. “Being a young kid and watching sport on the television, the Olympics was always the thing that got me into sport and into athletics. It’s everything.”
Growing up, Lake did not have to look too far for inspiration. Her father, Eldon Lake, is a former GB junior international triple jumper who introduced his daughter to the world of athletics before she could even crawl.
The Milton Keynes-born ace has always been drawn to the Games for its grandeur and the visibility it offers to a variety of sports not usually in the limelight.
This feels particularly pertinent in an era in which field events are fighting for attention, with Michael Johnson’s new Track League initiative set to overlook jumps and throws.
Lake and pole vaulter Molly Caudery will be key to ensuring British fans are zoned in on field events this summer and the chance to become a household name is a tantalising one.
“There’s so many different sports at the Olympics which I love,” she said.
“The fact that it only happens every four years makes it feel like a time where the whole country is loving sport and loving watching the athletics.
“Of course, all the other major championships are super exciting, but we have them every year. Even though I’m against the same competitors, in the same event and the same sport, the Olympics is just that bit more special.”
A foot injury prevented Lake competing in the final in Tokyo last time out, having cleared 1.95m to make it to that stage, but she has been in good form in this cycle.
“After coming fourth at the 2023 World Champs [in Budapest], that was the time when I really allowed myself to start thinking about Paris and what I could achieve there,” she said.
“To get so close to a medal was amazing but that also really fuelled me for this year. It was a case of thinking: “Wow I got so close; I know I can do that next year.” It’s really exciting. I just love the Olympics.”
Lake has built experience far beyond her years when it comes to competing under pressure and managing the weight of expectation from the outside, but this is something that has taken time.
She is one of the stars of Channel 4’s pre-Games fly-on-the-wall documentary Path to Paris: The Hunt for Gold, supported by The National Lottery, which will showcase the lengths Britain’s athletics hopefuls have gone to in their Olympic build-up as they bid for a summer to savour.
For many, preparations for the Olympics may feel like a distinctly personal affair but Lake sees sharing her journey as an opportunity to open people’s eyes to the realty of what it takes to be an Olympian.
“I do feel it’s quite easy for people to judge an athlete’s form just based on their performance on a particular day, but there’s always things happening behind the scenes,” she said.
“As athletes we go out there to compete and every time we do we want to do our best, but there’s a lot more to it than that. I think following the athlete for their journey and not just their performance is important.
“People being able to see the behind-the-scenes stuff that isn’t normally visible is a good thing. I think that helps them appreciate what it takes.”
Morgan Lake features in Path to Paris: The Hunt for Gold – a new documentary, supported by The National Lottery, airing on Sunday 21 July at 5pm on Channel 4. The programme follows British athletes as they prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and offers a unique insight into how National Lottery players support them on their journey.
Featured Image Credit: Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff via Beat Media Group subscription
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