Five years ago, after the Rio Olympic Games, Australian BMX athlete Lauren Reynolds was at her lowest. 

“After Rio I felt completely unaccomplished,” says Reynolds.

“Even though I had been to two Olympic Games, I felt like I was going nowhere and nothing made sense.

“I didn’t feel like I deserved to be there and because I wasn’t competitive out there, I didn’t feel like I should be there.”

After Rio, on top of the personal pressure Reynolds placed on herself, there was external pressure too. Many thought that she didn’t have another Olympic Games in her – that she was too old and too slow.