Just days out from hisOlympicdebut, diver Tyler Downs is already thinking about the future. Paris in 2024 — and, more immediately, Purdue University.
“I get a little bit of time off after this,” he tells PEOPLE while chatting in Tokyo, noting his move-in date is Aug. 17. “I got to move into Purdue, get situated there and then hopefully start the training process for Paris.”
But he’s not deterred: “I felt like I was ready to compete, but it just wasn’t my day. And hopefully the next Olympics, hopefully I make it. I can perform better.”
Downs, who just turned 18 on July 19, says that spectators can’t quite comprehend the “behind-the-scenes pressure” these athletes face — “they don’t know what’s going on … whether it’s with your family, teammates, coaches, how your practice is going.”
It’s a conversation Downs is glad fellow Team USA athleteSimone Bilesbrought to the forefront as she battled a loss of air awareness and was sidelined for most of her gymnastics events.
He, too, has experienced the phenomenon she called the"twisties": “It’s definitely really hard to come back, especially when you’ve been at such a high with all your competitions and then coming into the Olympics and having all of this pressure to win.”
Tyler Downs.Dylan Buell/Getty Images
He tells PEOPLE that the pairdidget to chat in the Olympic Village.
Biles “and Suni [Lee] … they came to the village to take pictures of the [Olympic] rings,” says Downs. “Suni told me to look out my patio, so I looked out they were sitting there, and I was waving. Then we actually went to the store and I saw them in there and we talked for a little bit.”
Tyler Downs.Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
“Everything’s been top-notch, the village, everything’s so nice,” he tells PEOPLE. “The Japanese people, they’re the sweetest people ever.”
And now, as he heads home, he’s got one thing on his mind: Chik-fil-A.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
