(thoughtful music)
- When I lift weights, I don't hear things,
I don't see things.
I know it sounds weird, but I'm so focused on lifting
that everything else kinda blanks out.
When I was super depressed,
weightlifting was a reason to do something.
I do think it helped me manage those mood swings.
You know being bipolar is something that I'm proud to say,
like I'm okay with it.
And I would like to erase the stigma
on all mental disorders.
(thoughtful music)
Growing up, sports were always pretty important
to my family.
And I spent 11 years doing gymnastics.
When I was 15 years old
I decided to end my career in gymnastics.
And I found CrossFit just to stay in shape.
Through CrossFit, my current coach recruited me
to get into weightlifting competitively
and I decided to take that on full time from there.
I've been weightlifting for about four years.
My first national competition was Youth Nationals in 2016.
About two years into my career
I kinda realized I could go places with this.
In 2018 I had my first International medals
at the Junior World Championships.
And from there it kinda took off and last year in 2019
I had my breakout year.
A highlight would be my 2019 World Championship.
(weights thudding)
Last year I had a minor meet in Cuba
and I just didn't want to lift.
I wasn't feeling motivated.
I didn't have that fire in me that I usually do.
I bombed out, which means you don't make a lift.
And when I got home,
I didn't really get out of bed for about a week.
And I had been dealing with, you know,
bouts of depression for probably two years at that point.
That was kinda my breaking point
when I decided I needed help.
And when I finally went to the doctor,
the psychiatrist almost immediately recognized my symptoms
and I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type two.
One of the first things I thought was that I'm crazy
because it has kind of been put in my head
that there's a stereotype around people
that struggle with mental health.
It didn't take me long to realize
that there's nothing to be ashamed of.
And I think I decided very early on
that I was going to share this journey with others
in hopes that it would help other people
get help faster than I did.
(door rattling)
Once I got help,
I could go to training and focus on weightlifting,
not on if I'm gonna feel great today,
or if I'm gonna feel awful.
At this point, I'm all but qualified for the Olympics.
So I'm really excited to train for that.
And I'm hoping to medal there
and represent the USA for the first time.
- Good.
- [Kate] There are some days that I literally
have to push to my maximal effort
and be about one rep away from failure.
And it's not fun.
It can be very painful, but you know,
when it comes down to it,
those are the days you get stronger.
It's a lotta hard work.
And then it's really awesome
to just put everything into those few seconds
that you're competing.
(dramatic music)
(crowd cheering)