With the 2016 Olympics just around the corner (how is it so long since London?!), athletes across the world are gearing up for the road to Rio.
This week we caught up with one of Ireland’s stars, modern pentathlon athlete Natalya Coyle from Co. Meath, to talk about the Olympics, and trying to juggle life and training for five sports.
Here, the talented athlete explains how it all began.
Modern pentathlete Natalya Coyle.
“I used to do pony club when I was younger, and that moved on to doing running, shooting, cycling and riding,” she began.
“That’s four of my five sports so I was really bad at the start! I just did it for the fun and eventually I started to get a bit more competitive and trained harder.
“After I won a couple of nationals, one of the lads introduced me to fencing and that was the fifth sport – so it went from there.”
Ireland’s Natalya Coyle competing in Italy.
“I was quite a late starter though,” she continued. “I didn’t do my first international competition until about fifth year, so I was really late starting international sport and then about three years after that, I qualified for the London Olympics, which was pretty amazing.
“It was tough going sometimes though. I went from school to college, but then when I started to get more serious about the sport, I split my time between college half of the year and competing the other half, so I’ve actually only graduated from my course this year – finally!” she added with a smile.
Competing in London, 2012.
“It’s hard to believe that London was three years ago. Now it’s all about looking ahead to Rio next year.
“Before that though it’s pretty intense. I’ll start competing again in February and then I’ll do a World Cup circuit, I’ll do my World Championships, my World Cup final and from there, hopefully I’ll qualify for the Olympics in Rio.
“How it works for me is that it’s based on a ranking basis. So between now and then, I’ll try to do as many competitions as I can. May is the cut-off point so they take it wherever you’re ranked at that stage will determine whether or not you qualify for Rio.”
Natalya in London 2012.
“It’s basically all systems go from here on in. It’s good though, every day is different as it’s a multi event sport. I’m really lucky as there’s such a good team at the Olympic Council and the Sports Council and they help you to organize everything and make sure that you don’t push yourself too hard.
“In terms of training, I swim about four times a week with Ellen Keane, I run four or five times a week, gym twice a week, and then horse riding and fencing three or four times a week.”
Competing in Italy this year.
“The one I do have to work hard at though is swimming. I started swimming quite late, I learned when I was small, but in fifth year I had to really knuckle down and I have to train hard at it. But I’ve a brilliant coach who has been very patient with me over the years.
“It can be pretty intense, especially with all of the training – it’s a delicate juggling act, I try to keep everything balanced. As I said though, organisations like the Olympic Council, the Sports Council and the Institute of Sport are vital for most Olympic athletes and aspiring Olympians as they organise everything, schedule and financing. That’s a massive help.”
Natalya at the Electric Ireland announcement this week.
“The highlight of it all so far though has to be the London Olympics. I went in ranked 29th and then came 9th so that was amazing.
“I was one of the youngest in the competition – I was 21 at the time – and it was a big deal for me. I hadn’t done anything at that level that year and it was fantastic.
“I remember trying to qualify for London – it was all a bit mad. I was chasing points and I had to go to China for competition. I knew sitting on the plane over that it was either going to be the best flight home or the worst flight home – and it’s a very long flight!”
Flying the flag at London 2012.
“I did qualify and then we got bumped up to first class randomly on the way home which just made my day.
“Then when I got back I ran with the Olympic torch outside Trinity and that was a crowning moment on it all. It was a strange time as it’s mad, when you want something for so long and then you eventually get it, it can be a bit surreal.
“Going to the Olympics is something that no one can ever take away from you – and hopefully I’ll do it again next year.
“To be honest, it seems like no time has passed since London, but now I think there’s just under 300 days left and that’s insane,” she continued, speaking to us at the announcement of Electric Ireland’s Smarter Living sponsorship of the Irish Olympic Team for Rio 2016.
Pictured after the fencing competition at London 2012.
“Since then, we’ve been trying to build the profile of the sport, and London really helped for that as more people became aware of it and I’ve been lucky now to get a sponsor such as Electric Ireland – it’s huge, especially for my sport, it shows that we’re getting out there which is fantastic.
“It’s great there’s something in pentathlon for everyone. Whether you want to do them all or not, there’s something that suits everyone.
“It’s never too late to find a sport that you like, I was so late coming to it – you just need to try it out.”
She was 21 years old when she competed in London.
“It can be quite difficult, some days you are on top of the world, others can be quite dark. A few years ago, I had to take a break as I was mentally exhausted but that’s the great thing about having such support around you – in the organisations and my family are brilliant too.
“Now, I’m just looking ahead and focusing on the next few months ahead and hopefully, I’ll be headed for Rio next summer!” she finished with a smile.
Images: INPHO/SportsFile
