Katie Uhlaender.Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Team USA
While many people took up new hobbies during the coronavirus pandemic, Katie Uhlaender’s gig had dual purposes.
“I think that the pandemic was a blessing in terms of my mental health, because it gave me the space and time to focus on myself and really turn inward, which I think is difficult to do, but I needed to do it,” she said last fall. “It also gave me a stronger sense of community because I stayed in one place for the first time for almost a year in Lake Placid. And the community was super strong and supportive.”
Uhlaender, 37, said she ended up working as a tree arborist assistant, which she described as “like a logger.” The skills learned served as a replacement for weightlifting, she said. How she wound up in the temporary job was even more interesting, the seasoned athlete said.
“I was delivering Instacart and this guy just asked, because I think everyone started to get a little stir crazy,” she explained. “And when I dropped the groceries off on the porch, he was like … ‘Do you want to work trees?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, I don’t even know what that is, but yes.’ "
Her role included using a rope to move logs and brush after the trees were cut down. She called the entire experience “amazing.” And through the opportunity, she met “a whole new community of supporters for my sport.”
“I think that really helped me heal mentally as well,” said Uhlaender. “Just finding a community that can be supportive of me in times that I might not be good mentally.”
In general, Uhlaender spoke about the challenges and pressures of being an elite athlete. She’s learned, she said, that “it’s okay to not be okay.”
“And when you have people that give you the space to be both at the same time, that’s really special,” the athlete told PEOPLE.
To learn more about all the Olympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, beginning February 3 on NBC.
source: people.com
