Annalise Murphy might only be 23-years-old but she has already made it into the top 15 sailors in the world and competed at Olmypic level.
We had a chat with her about how she felt after missing out on a medal in London last year and what she hopes to achieve in Rio in 2016.
Annalise, tell us, how did you first get involved in sailing?
Well my mum went sailing in the Seoul 1988 Olympics. It was from a pretty young age that I wanted to be involved in it. We were brought up around boats and it was something I thought of as a fun hobby than a life. But as a teenager I got quite good at it and that’s how I ended up where I am now.
And did you ever expect to be this successful?
No not at all. At first I just did for enjoyment and then I started to enjoy racing and started getting competitive. Then I wanted to do better but I never thought that I’d get to achieve what I have and go to the Olympics never mind finishing in the top five in the world. It wasn’t something that I ever thought was possible and even now I still think oh wow, I can’t believe I’ve done this.
We’re sure you had to give up a lot, what was that like?
Well I started training full time in 2009 so I had to defer my degree in college (she was a UCD Science student) and spend a lot of time away from home. I was training six days a week and it’s a job but it was also an opporunity that was hard too hard to turn down.
What was it like to miss out on a medal in London last summer?
At the time I was devastated because being so close to winning a medal and then you just miss out, it’s hard to contemplate in your head because you think what happens if that was my only chance? You start to look at it more logically a few months later. It was pretty hard at the time but it was also an incredible experience to be at the Olympics. I did get to win four races which meant that I was the best in the world for two days at the Olympics. You can’t beat that feeling. Thats why I’m saving for Rio and hopefully I can go there and win a medal.
We take it you’re busy training then?
At the moment I’m in the middle of the European season so I’ve just done an event in France, an event in Italy and I’ve got another event in Holland next week and then one in the UK so it’s all pretty busy at the moment. Then I’ll do a lot of training in Dublin over the summer because my European Championships are in Dun Laoghaire in September.
And you won in Italy, how does that help your confidence?
It definitely does. When you win it makes you feel like everything you’ve been doing is worthwhile and that your training is going well. It also gives you a marker against your competition.
You seem to like to be busy. Have you always been that way?
I spend my whole time running around. I find it quite hard to sit down and relax. I’ll be told that I need to take a day off after training for 14 days in a row but on my day off I’ll be like I don’t want to take a day off and I’ll end up doing something else. It’s probably detrimental but it certainly got me where I am.
Asides from Rio, what else do you want to achieve in your professional life?
I haven’t really thought that far ahead. At the moment that consumes my whole time. Even though Rio is three years away I can’t help but think about it. It’s one of the important things in my life but I still want to graduate from college and maybe have a normal life that’s not quite so hectic and not be so far away from home at some stage.
And you’re also an ambassador for Nurofen Big Lives. How do you feel about that?
It’s really exciting. We’re taking 10 people and making their big life dreams a reality which is really cool. I get to live my big life dream so it’s nice to do that for others.
Last but not least, if you could sail away with anyone in the world who would it be?
I don’t know but I said earlier that out of everyone I would most want to go out on a date with Bradley Cooper. So being on a boat with him wouldn’t be too bad… although he might not be that good for actual sailing.
Annalise Murphy is the Nurofen Big Lives Ambassador. The Nurofen Big Lives Trust is giving ten Irish people €1,500 each to make their Big Life dream a reality. Entry is free. Go to the Nurofen Ireland facebook page- www.facebook.com/nurofenireland before 26 July.
