Despite a challenging career filled with potentially life-changing injuries, 2018 PyeongChang Olympian Phylicia George earned her first medal on the 2018 Women’s Bobsleigh team. The once-in-a-lifetime achievement came after the once-aspiring doctor decided to chase of dreams of becoming a world-class athlete.
Can you share a little bit of how you got into track?
Track has been a really big part of my life for a long time. My earliest memories running involve my dad. In elementary school, I used to be like the fastest kid in school and everyone told me I should get a coach and training. I started doing that in high school and started running with the track runners. Then, I got a full ride scholarship to the University of Connecticut. Once I graduated, I kind of had my breakout year. I made my first team in 2011, which was a World Championship. I made my first Olympic team right after that.
Wow! That’s remarkable. So then over the course of your career, what would you say was the most pivotal point that you were like, “I know I want to do this the rest of my life and I’m going to put my all into it!”?
I would say when I graduated from university. I was in love, but I wasn’t necessarily someone that people would look at and say, “Oh, she’s going to be a somebody.” It was just something for me to do. I just ran. I do feel like I really have so much more potential inside of me. A couple years back, I had made a goal of going to the Olympics. It was like one of those things – if I stop now… I studied Biology in school and my plan was to go to Med School. Everybody was just like, “You had a good run with track. Just go to Med School and keep it moving.” But I knew I had dreams of becoming an Olympian, so I just feel like once I graduated I just really poured myself into it.
That was just a bold move to be at two different ends of a spectrum. That had to be a hard, hard decision. How did you persevere?
It was like I’m going to give myself the best chance to do it. It was a journey of a year. Every single time I stepped on the track, I learned and pushed myself. It was a compilation of like all those years of hard work. Making my first team, that year, was probably a real indicator for me that, “Yeah! I can do this!” Then going to the World Championship and competing. Doing this out of university and the world finals, it was like “I belong here!”
Right! Most definitely! In 2018, you placed Bronze at the PyeongChang Olympics! Congratulations! How was that experience to accomplish the goal you sought after? Can you speak first on your transition into bob sleighing?
Yeah, I competed in the PyeongChang Olympics for track – Winter Olympics 2018. I did both finals. I originally got top athletics in the world, so that part was wild. Then I got a Twitter message from someone who had been doing bob sleighing and they wanted to recruit me to come out to see if I could make the Winter Olympics. Literally, not something that I ever really thought about. To me, it was a cool way to contract off and I’m still a little thrill seeker, I guess. So, I was like, “Cool, I’ll come out and try it.”
Surely, track and field is different than bob sleighing. How was the training and how long did the process take?
I went out and bobsleighed for the first time. I got used to it and I moved up the category. The difference for training in track versus bobsleighing is very much about strength and power, so through the process, I gained about 20 pounds in lean muscle mass. With track and field, you have to be conditioned really well. I did all that within six months. In September, I went out and trained for bobsleigh and then was competing by February. It was kind of crazy because I was learning a whole new sport while trying to make an Olympic team. But, I just put my head down and kept working. Then, I made the team.
And that team led you to your Bronze medal. How did it feel to overachieve and earn that medal?
I qualified to be in the top sleigh. There were three Canadian women sleighs. Once you get to the Olympics it’s kind of like the work is done. So, I definitely felt very confident going out there. My partner and I had really great chemistry. We would do confidence building stuff with each other. Getting it down, though, was crazy! Winning that medal! I came out of the sleigh realizing and being emotional because just remembering all the work that went in to get there. Then, seeing it all culminate with a medal.
What would say is the hardest thing you’ve had to overcome with you getting to this point of you being an Olympian?
Man, you go through so much! I feel like a really big thing in sport is you have to be confident and really believe in yourself. But, a lot of things will happen that kind of test that. I’ve had lots of injuries, where I’m not able to compete or coming back from an injury and I’m not quite being at the same fitness level that I was at. So in 2013, I had a really bad hamstring injury and I didn’t compete for the whole year. That was really hard, one, to not do something I’ve done my whole life basically, but then I found the year after probably the hardest because of my lack of confidence.
How, then, did you get over that roadblock and how would you tell someone to do the same?
It was a matter of building back my confidence and through that process believing in myself, “I can get it done! I may not be where I want to be where I want to be right now, but I trust myself and I trust the process. I will get back to where I want to be.” So, maintaining that unwavering belief in yourself, even when things don’t look good or aren’t in your favor. Find the silver lining. With every injury I’ve had, I’ve found they’ve made me stronger physically and mentally because it’s challenged me and I’ve had to find a way to make myself better.
That’s very true! Thank you! At Urban, our motto is that we live urban culture. How would you say you live urban culture?
I live urban culture through music. I’m always warming up to some sort of Hip-Hop or R&B. I listen to it to get me in the mindset of: I’m going to do me! I’m going to go out there and do my thing and really perform to the best of my abilities. So, I love music! It is a part of me – warming, competing, and getting in the mindset!
Speaking of competing, how are you gearing up for your next competition or the next move in your career?
Right now, I’m back to track and field. I’m aiming to make my 4th Olympic team for 2020, which will be in Tokyo. Just training for that. I think it’s been an interesting transition back to track and field. I feel like I have a whole new perspective on sport and how I want to push things. So, just being really focused on myself and the goals I have set for me.
Awesome! It was a pleasure talking to you and thank you for letting us tell your story!
– Sciler Williams
