Motivation Quote by Oksana Baiul

A champion admitting the hardest part of jumping isn’t the physics but the permission to trust herself. Baiul’s line reads like a crash course in elite performance: the body can already do the thing, but competition turns the same movement into a referendum on identity. “I land them in practice” is the quiet flex; the skill is there. The failure, if it happens, comes from the mind tightening its grip at exactly the wrong moment.

Her phrasing is telling. She doesn’t say she needs to “try harder.” She says she should “let my body go” and “stabilize my mind.” That’s the paradox of high-level sport: control comes from releasing control. In practice, the jump is a habit. Under lights and judging, it becomes a thought, and thoughts are slow. The subtext is fear of disruption - of one intrusive image, one remembered mistake, one shaky takeoff spiraling into a popped jump. She’s describing the mental gap between rehearsal and the public version of yourself, where every wobble feels louder because it’s witnessed and scored.

The final sentence makes it even more specific: “negative thoughts and emotions…on the ice.” Not in the locker room, not after the event - in the act itself. Figure skating is brutal that way: artistry and athleticism happen simultaneously, leaving no room to step aside and regroup. Baiul is naming the invisible opponent: the inner commentator that shows up at competitions and tries to skate the program for you.