The Invisible Injury: A Conversation about Mental Health in Sport, the Role of the Strength Coach &
Samantha Arsenault Livingstone is an Olympic gold medalist, high-performance consultant, keynote speaker, and mental health activist. At home in the classroom, Samantha spent six years teaching high school science and coaching swimming. After a near-death experience with her then 12-month-old daughter, Samantha knew it was time to pay forward all she'd learned about achievement, mental illness, rising from failure and finding happiness. In 2016, Samantha founded Livingstone High Performance and the Whole Athlete Initiative (the WAI) in response to the mental health crisis impacting adolescents across the globe. LHP provides pillars of support to organizations, teams, and individuals to elevate mental health and improve performance. In 2020, Samantha co-founded WholeHealth Sport to equip coaches and parents with the training, skills and support needed to change the narrative, culture, and game regarding mental wellbeing in sport. Samantha holds a master's in science education and is a certified instructor of Mental Health First Aid and facilitator of Mindful Sports Performance Enhancement. In 2020, she was named to the University of Georgia’s 40 Under 40. Samantha was a member of the U.S. National Team, 1999 U.S. Pan Pacific Team and 2000 U.S. Olympic Team. As an 18-year-old, she stood atop the Olympic podium in Sydney, Australia after swimming the lead-off leg of the record-setting 4 x 200 Freestyle Relay. Post- Olympics, Samantha battled an eating disorder, depression and shoulder surgery. With the help of an amazing mentor, she rose from the rubble stronger, happier and healthier, ending her career as a 7 x NCAA All-American. To close out her career, Samantha led her teammates to the 2005 National Championship title as the co-captain of the Georgia Bulldogs. She was named the 2005 NCAA Georgia Woman of the Year and is a recipient of the 2005 NCAA Top VIII Award given to student- athletes for their success on the fields and courts, in the classroom and in the community. She earned the Joel Eves award at the University of Georgia for earning the highest GPA of all student-athletes in her graduating class and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America 1st Team. She was a recipient of post-graduate scholarships from both the SEC and NCAA. Samantha resides in Berkshire County, Massachusetts with her husband and four daughters. You can learn more about Samantha at samanthalivingstone.com.
