In an article that appeared in USA Today Sports, Olympic gold medalist Anthony Ervin details his own struggles with Tourette Syndrome and how he was able to channel those struggles into what he describes as an advantage in the pool.
After most recently coming back and winning gold 16 years after his first individual gold at just 19 years old in Sydney, Australia, Ervin is now raising awareness as a youth ambassador for the Tourette Association of America through 2018 and speaking out on his experience with the neurological disorder.
Describing the facial tics and nervous energy as “an itch that constantly [wanted] to be scratched,” as a young adult, Ervin recounts that he was always attracting negative attention for symptoms he couldn’t control. And while that attention was often unwanted, Ervin also credits it with giving him an advantage in his future international swimming career.
Describing the “jitters” and emotion that is packed into an Olympic final, Ervin said his experience growing up with Tourette Syndrome had prepared him to deal with that anxiety better than his competitors. “It’s something that I coped with daily as a youth, so I felt a little more comfortable in that environment” says Ervin. “And I really think that gave me a particular kind of edge when competing on that kind of a stage.”
Ervin hopes sharing his experience and serving as an ambassador for the Tourette Association of America will help to alleviate some of the isolation that is inherent with the disorder and show young people how they can take positives from managing the disorder. You can read the full interview with Ervin here and learn more about the Tourette Association of America here.