Numerous professional athletes call the Bay Area home, but our Person of the Week, two-time Olympian (Munich, 1972 and Montreal, 1976) Marilyn King, is a standout. Her 20-year athletic career in the grueling Pentathlon earned King five national titles and a World Record. Many of us remember those moments, impressed by her physical feats. Less evident was the mental process that King credits for much of her success.

She recalls an early Olympic Committee rejection, when she wasn’t chosen to participate, but a few other girls whom she had decisively defeated beforehand were selected. King told the Bay Times, “I didn’t speak out loud, but I thought to myself, ‘I could be in the Olympics. I know I can do this.’” From that moment onward, she kept the goal in mind and eventually achieved it.

Potential tragedy struck in 1980, however, when a car accident led to a debilitating back injury. At the time, she was preparing for the Moscow Games that year. Bed-ridden for over four months and unable to physically train, she instead spent most of the time viewing films of successful pentathletes, visualizing herself going through the necessary motions. “Using only mental training techniques, I placed second at the Olympic trials for the Moscow Games,” she said.

King began to investigate the power of psychoneuroimmunology, which addresses the mind-body connection. “I discovered that exceptional human performance often relies upon three things: passion, vision, and action,” she said. Out of that realization she developed a method called Olympic Thinking, which she has shared with leaders at several well-known businesses across the country. She has also helped schoolchildren from around the world to see their potential and focus on realistic goals within their reach. “You should envision your gold every day,” she advises. “Your gold is different than mine, but realize that new thoughts can lead to new behaviors. It’s a daily practice that can change your entire body chemistry and lead to positive action.”

Now, King has her eyes set on the International Day of Peace, observed September 21. Just as athletes from around the world come together in harmony for common rewarded Olympic goals, she and others hope that individuals may be recognized for their peace-building achievements. She explained, “From my experience in the Olympic Village, I saw that each person seemed to have respect for herself/himself—body, mind and Spirit—respect for the other person, and I now extend that respect for the planet.”