EP125: What missing the 2020 Olympics by 2 seconds taught world champion, Jordan Thomas
“I was on fire. I was fighting well. Then I've got to one of the most important fights I just needed to get through. This fight was probably the most important fight to get that chance to have the Olympic gold medal. I received a head kick with two seconds to go, and two seconds just wasn't enough to get the points back.”
Jordan was on the pathway to Tokyo Olympics 2020 when he missed his dream by two seconds. Rather than wallow in the disappointment Jordan has shown incredible resilience to jump back up and keep going.
Jordan was very aware of the risks in this sport. His father was also a world and european karate champion. He was also aware of what a financial strain it could be to fund full time sport. For many years Jordan worked full time training others before turning his focus on training himself in the evenings.
“...before my world final, I got a message the night before that my phone bill had bounced...I was 22 at the time…Then I won my world final, very convincingly…and still came back home, and couldn't pay my phone bill because I still had no money.”
We also talk about:
How mindset is the most important tool
Being run over by a car and told he would never walk again
Choosing between football and karate
The life of a full time athlete
Following in his father’s footsteps
Jordan’s work with charity Inspire You
Jordan is active on Instagram and is preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of underprivileged young people for the charity Inspire You.
Nicole Bremner is an investor and podcaster. After a successful decade building a multi-million property portfolio in London, Nicole was forced by a number of external obstacles to stop, take stock and figure out what really matters in life.
