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I went into the European Championships feeling apprehensive. Thanks to the pandemic, not only was it was my first international competition since the Worlds in 2019, but I also knew my training had been impacted quite a bit. Of course, most athletes are in the same boat!
I had already competed in a few UK based competitions, the fastest of which had been 13.5 in Birmingham, the slowest being (embarrassingly) 14.09 in Gateshead. I hadn't particularly enjoyed competing in 2021 thus far, I was putting so much pressure on getting a good enough time to qualify for Tokyo that I wasn't able to relax or run properly. I chatted with my coach before leaving for Poland and knew I had just over a week to completely reset my brain and change this negative mindset and CHILL OUT. At the hotel in Heathrow before flying to Poland I was honestly dreading the whole thing! I felt sick and anxious, which is not like me at all! Throughout the week things gradually got better. I kept telling myself that times didn't matter, I was just there to run as fast as I could and to try and have fun. I started to feel more confident, people were telling me I looked fast in training and I began to look forward to my race. I was also selected to compete in the Universal Relay the next day, which I didn't really allow myself to dwell on at all as it's a competition I've never competed in before and we didn't get a lot of time to practice.
Because of Covid rules we weren't allowed out of our hotel rooms unless it was to train, compete or to see a physio or soft tissue therapist, we were also told we couldn't even go to the track to support our teammates! Other countries did, but GB were being extra safe! (probably needlessly... The stadium was huge and empty, social distancing would not have been an issue... And we were sharing the hotel and the food buffet with other countries who were visiting the track for that purpose anyway!). You would think I would have had hours of free time, I thought I would have! - I bought my laptop to do some animating, my drawing book, my Nintendo Switch... All of which I barely touched! Time was eaten up by breakfast, lunch, dinner, training, travel to and from the track, plenty of physio and of course; napping (I am a big fan of napping).
The 100m - Straight Final - 03.06.2021 - 12:07pm
I woke up feeling very calm and not nervous at all, this was a relief because back in 2019 at the World Champs in the 100m heat I had experienced pre-race nerves for the first time and did not enjoy it!
The 100m final was at midday so I had been training in the morning to get used to it, the sun was out and it was a lovely warm day to be competing... Too warm for an amputee?! I'd been using talcum powder to try to alleviate the sweating and it definitely helped to dry out the silicone liner and my stump before competing. I was told by an official I wasn't allowed to bring it out onto the track with me, I asked her why and she said she didn't know but it was on a banned list. I bought out just my towel and hoped for the best.
As an athlete with one of the slowest season's bests, I was competing in an outside lane, meaning I had one athlete on my left and no one on my right. I got a fairly good start, and just relaxed and ran as fast as I could. I could feel the athlete next to me gaining on me and I tried my best to stay ahead of her but she overtook me as I started to feel out of control and wonky about halfway through the race - I'd never competed in this blade set-up before and evidently it will need some tweaking. I came 5th. Definitely not the place I was hoping for. My time of 13.17 was a new season's best, and was actually the fastest legal time I'd run since 2017! Fleur Jong of the Netherlands ran an incredible new T62 World Record of 12.64! Despite being the slowest T64 on the track that day, I am not upset about it. I ran so much better than I had done so far in 2021. It's also way faster than I've ever run in June where I later went on to run sub 13s. But most importantly... I actually had fun and enjoyed it, something that had been lacking in my previous races of 2021. I'm now excited to bring my renewed positive mindset into all my other races and hopefully get a time good enough to qualify for Tokyo.
Universal Relay - Heat - 04.06.2021
The only relay practice I'd ever done was back in February 2020, as well as at my first training session in Bydgoszcz on the 30th of May 2021. I suppose I had every right to be nervous about it, but I woke up on the morning of the heat feeling absolutely nothing - just the way I like it. In case you aren't familiar with the Universal Relay, it consists of four different impairment groups running 100m each to get around the 400m track. The first leg must be a visually impaired athlete, the second leg is an athlete with a limb impairment/amputation, the third leg is for athletes with a coordination impairment, and the final leg needs to be a wheelchair athlete. Our team consisted of Zac Shaw (T12), me (T64), Sophie Hahn (T38) and Nathan Maguire (T54). The rules also stipulate that there must be two male and two female athletes and that only two of the athletes can be in the highest functioning level within their category. Relay teams are allowed two members of staff to come along and help, this is especially useful for blade runners and wheelchair racers as we cannot measure out distances with our feet. A piece of tape is placed down before the relay box, and when I see Zac get to it I have to start running and trust that he will reach me before I leave the relay box. The Universal Relay does not require the use of a baton to be passed around - this is because a) it wouldn't be fair on an athlete with no hands, and b) wheelchair racers need their hands to race! So instead of a baton we just need to make physical contact with the person we are handing over to. We use a slap on the back as it is the largest surface area. It was so fun! We qualified second fastest with a time of 48.21, Russia finished in 47.90. Both Poland and Romania got disqualified due to changeover issues, which gives you an indication as to how tricky it can be to get it right!
Universal Relay - Final - 04.06.2021
Running in the final was just as fun and exciting as the heat, I went into it feeling confident because of how well we'd all done with the changeovers in the heat. Even though we'd qualified second fastest we were placed in the outside lane rather than a middle one. Perhaps it was because we were technically 'fastest losers' rather than automatic qualifiers like Russia and France. In the end, we got a silver medal with a time of 48.20, 0.01 seconds faster than earlier that day! Russia improved on their time and got a new European Record of 47.67. It was great to be part of the relay team and I feel proud and privileged to have been able to participate in it! I'm also very lucky that my teammates had faith in me not to mess anything up as a first-time relay runner.
Unfortunately due to some really bad scheduling in Tokyo, I won't be able to compete in the Universal Relay as the heat and final for it are both on the same day as my 100m final. Now that I've had a chance to compete in the relay this is even more upsetting because it was definitely one of the highlights of my sporting career and I'd love to keep doing it!
People to thank!
My coach, who for the first time wasn't able to accompany me to an international championships but was still able to help me from afar.
The coach I was assigned to look after me for the duration of the trip was very supportive and a good calming influence.
My prosthetist at Proactive Prosthetics who look after me so well, and of course Össur, without whom I would not be a blade runner!
The other members of the relay team who all raced so well to get that silver medal.
The relay coaches, despite having very little time to practice made sure we were able to succeed.
My roommate, who is always great to chat to and hang out with, even more important when you're literally not allowed out of your room!
The support from all the athletes on the team who made sure to congratulate everyone on their performances even though we couldn't be trackside to watch.
All the staff who made sure we were in the right place at the right time and put so much effort into keeping us safe from Covid!
And of course, my family and friends for always being kind and supportive, whether I win a medal or come dead last, they're always there for me!
