Paris Olympics: Eleanor Patterson reveals she suffered ‘imposter syndrome’ after world title win

She suffered from “imposter syndrome” after winning the world title in 2022, but Eleanor Patterson is more confident than ever she can convert her favouritism into an Olympic gold medal.

Eleanor Patterson is more confident than ever she can convert her favouritism into an Olympic gold medal. Picture: Michael Klein

High jump star Eleanor Patterson suffered from “impostor syndrome” after winning the world title in 2022.

It wasn’t until she fought back from injury the following year to win a silver medal at the world championships that the Australian champion felt she belonged among the world’s best.

In what is shaping as Australia’s best event of the track and field program, Patterson and her teammate Nicola Olyslagers will be two of the favourites for Olympic gold in Paris.

After a slow start to the season, Patterson, 27, is confident she is peaking at the right time, just like she did last year to claim silver at the world titles in Budapest.

Australia's Eleanor Patterson said she suffered from “impostor syndrome” after winning the world title in 2022. Picture: AFP

Sydney-based Patterson had surgery on her foot at the start of 2023 and rates her comeback to finish on the medal dais almost better than winning gold the previous year in Eugene, Oregon.

“That was a biggie for me, getting surgery for the first time and then managing to come back and win silver at the worlds last year,” Patterson told the En Route to Paris podcast.

“So that was quite special for me in a lot of ways, even sometimes more so than the gold was.

“I always had a bit of impostor syndrome a little bit after the gold. I was like, ‘I’ve got to prove that I’m good enough for this’ even though I’d just won.

“But then coming back and, I mean, I feel like as much as you plug away and you do a lot of all the hard work and you’re at a certain calibre and you can bring out these performances, you are human and you second guess yourself.

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Eleanor Patterson is among Australia’s great medal hopes in athletics. Picture: Getty Images

“So it was affirming in a lot of ways just to even do that. I’m quite a shy person in a lot of ways so I’m not necessarily going out there as this big, colourful person who’s going to be full of confidence.

“I’m still like ‘Oh, everyone is looking at me, this is so nerve wracking’.

“But you work so hard for it, which is why it is so very rewarding to bring out those big performances.”

Patterson also said she fought back from losing her love for the sport after winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal as a teenager and how a love of knitting would play a key role in keeping her grounded in the lead-up to Paris.

Originally published as Paris Olympics: Eleanor Patterson reveals she suffered ‘imposter syndrome’ after world title win