- An injury ruled him out of the Tokyo Olympics and he went into a downward spiral
- Is not injury-free and ready for a push for matches in Paris
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There is no pain barrier Australian Olympic hopeful Clay Stephens can’t break through it. The gymnast has already been to hell and back before Paris.
Stephens remembers waking up in the shower covered in vomit and blood. Struggling with depression and anxiety, he often drank heavily and abused Oxycodone during his darkest times.
Although he never attempted suicide, he admits to engaging in “risky activities.” Three years later, Stephens is happy, healthy and wants to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris.
The 26-year-old will compete at the Oceania Championships in Auckland on Sunday, hoping to secure a place on the Australian Olympic team in artistic gymnastics.
Clay Stephens hopes to overcome a miserable series of injuries and drug addiction to find a place on the plane to the Paris Olympics
The Australian gymnast will compete for Olympic qualification at the Oceanic Championships in Auckland on Sunday
Stephens had dreamed of competing in the Tokyo Olympics, but those hopes were crushed by a third ACL tear. Living alone on the University of Illinois campus during COVID-19, his life went into a tailspin.
“I was in so much emotional and mental pain,” he said. “You say, ‘What can solve this?’ and then you do it [take Oxycodone while drinking alcohol] and you don’t have to worry about anything because your brain isn’t thinking about anything. It’s an escape.’
As of 2017, Stephens spent four years primarily on crutches and underwent six knee surgeries. “I’d be off crutches for two months and then I’d tear my ACL again,” he said.
He returned just in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he came close to winning a medal. However, a few months later, tragedy struck when his good friend Josh took his own life.
He remembers 2020 and 2021 as the lowest point of his life. “I was physically isolated, socially isolated and geographically isolated from my family,” he said. “It was isolation in every sense of the word.”
Stephens went on reckless adventures without any concern for his well-being at the height of his downward spiral. He still loves adventure, but now proceeds more cautiously
Stephens is keen to make the Olympic squad after missing Tokyo due to an ACL tear
Stephens was prescribed Oxycodone for his knee pain, but hardly used it. As a result, he had six bottles of the drug on hand. ‘I was stuck in my own place. I stumbled downstairs, had someone get me a case of beer, and I dropped these painkillers in with the beer.”
‘I was not suicidal, but I was very active in engaging in risky activities. It was a period of risking everything and seeing what happens.”
“It’s very hard to get away from a place you don’t want to leave,” he said. “I found a lot of comfort in the fact that I was unhappy for a while.”
Stephens ultimately accepted the unpredictability of life and chose to take the risk to be happy. “Having all these low moments forced me to reflect, and I’ve found a place where I enjoy and understand the importance of each day.”
Now when he looks at the Olympics, he strives as hard as ever, but tries to enjoy each day more than the last.