Nicola McDermott
“When I was 8 years old, I had a dream to one day be an international High Jumper consistently jumping over 2 metres. I did not know the journey I would take to get there, but unknowingly I would one day be positioned to have everything I needed to reach that level. At 25 years old, the dream is now a working reality.”
Nicola McDermott is an Australian high jumper. McDermott won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the high jump and is the current high jump Oceanian record holder. She was recently forced to withdraw from the finals of the Commonwealth Games due to injury, saying, “My prayer is that someone else’s dream comes alive tomorrow as I cheer them on from the sidelines.”
Her inspiration often comes from Bible verses and inspirational messages that she writes on her wrist. She has stated that no gold medal could bring lasting satisfaction to her heart, and that being loved by God rather than her performance determines her identity; this is the reason she says she keeps the focus on making her identity outside of sport.
Nicola runs Everlasting Crowns, a ministry dedicated to encouraging and teaching athletes. She recently married Rhys Olyslagers earlier this year.