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Tag: Olympics

  • Reid reflects on Olympic experiences

    Reid reflects on Olympic experiences

    Aileen Reid was highly tipped to do well at London 2012 but after a crash on her bike she finished 43rd. Gavin Hyland talks with the Olympic triathlete to find out how she rebounded from the disappointment of 2012.

    Having a disappointing Olympics would be enough to destroy anybody’s confidence but that is not how Aileen Reid reacted to her 43rd place finish at the London Olympics in 2012.

    “I had a disappointing swim and I had to rush the cycle and that led to the crash on the bike. I was proud I finished but it was not the day my Olympic dream was supposed to be,” explains Reid.

    It’s 5pm in Australia where Reid has been living for the last year and she tells me she is looking at the stadium where the Commonwealth Games will be held. Reid intended on competing at the games but injury has forced her to retire as a triathlon athlete.

    It is a far colder 8am in Dublin when we are speaking and the former Irish Olympian tells me the weather is one of the reasons she moved to Australia.

    “People are out at 5am doing all sorts of exercise from running to surfing. It’s not just sporty people, everybody does it. The sun is out,” the Derry native laughs at the last part as it’s a very chilly October morning in Dublin and she can’t help being giddy with the difference in weather.

    “Every Thursday afternoon kids do sports and they are not forced, they genuinely want to be active,” said Reid.

    Before she gets too carried away with her new life in Australia, I pull her back to her time as an Olympian. After the disappointment of 2012, Reid continued to train and was back representing Ireland at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

    Reid lists off places she visited for training camps in preparation for Rio. “We went to Kenya for a training camp and then we had a heat preparation camp in Florida. I had a much better experience in Rio even though I didn’t break top 10 or anything like that.”

    As she casually mentions the pleasures of cycling through the Japanese countryside or swimming in the Mediterranean, I ask if she ever got to enjoy seeing those places.

    “I probably didn’t enjoy it enough. I missed out on a lot of experiences and I didn’t always enjoy the experiences,” confesses Reid.

    She would encourage young athletes to remember to enjoy the experience and the events athletics affords them.

    Reid prepared well before competing by attending training camps, including heat preparation and altitude training. “Athletes train for the type of conditions they are going to compete in. That is why we had a training camp in Florida right before Rio.”

    aileen-reid.jpg
    Aileen Reid representing Ireland at Rio in 2016. Source: Morgan Treacy

    The future of Irish athletics

    The former Olympian tells a familiar story when asked about the situation in Irish athletics. There are talented athletes in the country but funding is lacking.

    “We have the athletes and we have the coaches but we sometimes don’t have the investment,” said Reid.

    A sense of frustration creeps into the Olympian’s voice. “Volunteer coaches are expected to produce high performing athletes while these other guys were sitting in their high chairs.” It is unclear who these “other guys” are. Financial issues in the Irish Olympics set-up are not new, the boxing squad famously had financial trouble and the Pat Hickey controversy emerged during Rio 2016.

    Equal Sport

    Reid, a former PE teacher, is now coaching children in a private school in Australia and she believes that triathlon is a good example of a gender balanced sport.

    “Lots of schools have training camps and there is equal pay and prize money throughout the sport.” When speaking about gender inequality in other sports, Reid doesn’t have much time for excuses. “There’s no reason in this day and age why women shouldn’t have the same access to changing rooms and equal prize money,” argues Reid.

    Things seem to be far easier for the two time Olympian since she moved to Australia. “If I wanted to go swimming in Ireland I would have to put on my layers, my boots and in December, I would have spent 10 minutes scraping the ice off the car and that’s all before I even get to the pool. Here I go down in my shorts and t-shirt with nothing more than a towel and I can swim for as long as I want,” gloated Reid.

  • Olympian Reynolds driving a path for grassroots dressage in Ireland

    Olympian Reynolds driving a path for grassroots dressage in Ireland

    Representing Ireland at an Olympics is a major event for any sportsperson. Gavin Hyland speaks to Olympian Judy Reynolds about Rio 2016 and her chances of being at Tokyo 2020.

    Fifteen years ago, Judy Reynolds moved to Germany with no knowledge of the language and nowhere to live. She was supposed to be there for nine months to compete in dressage but the Irish Olympian is still living there today.

    Reynolds has performed in three world equestrian games, three European dressage championships, the dressage world cup and the Olympic Games in Rio.

    _MAX0454Schindlhof CDI Vancouver K Judy Reynolds 7 17PhMSchreiner
    Schindlhof CDI 4 star show in Austria in July this year where Judy won both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special.

     

    “The Olympics is the pinnacle of what you want to achieve, it is different and there is something very special about it. The best of the best are there representing their country,” said Reynolds.

    Reynolds speaks patriotically about the honour of representing Ireland and the overwhelming experience of walking through the Olympic village.

    Competing in international competitions has allowed Reynolds to see many interesting places. “We do get to see many amazing places, from Doha and a small village in Poland to competing on the Austrian Alps.”

    She said: “We do enjoy these places, but it is never like a holiday.  We are always focused on the competition.”

    Rio was special for Reynolds as she finished a very impressive 16th in the individual event. She puts her good performance partly down to good preparation. “We were in Rio 12 days before competition and that is a long time to work with just one horse,” explained Reynolds.

    Speaking to the Kildare native, it is obvious that she puts herself under immense pressure to perform to the best of her ability and she is acutely aware that despite living in Germany for 15 years, she is representing Ireland.

    _MSU0412 Schindlhof CDI Vancouver K Judy Reynolds7 17 Ph M Schreiner
    Schindlhof CDI 4 star show in Austria in July this year where Judy Reynolds won both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special.

    The future looks bright for Irish equestrian as the showjumping team won gold at the European Championships and individual bronze.

    “Dressage in Ireland at grassroots level is growing hugely and we are climbing high in the world rankings,” according to Reynolds.

    Many people still find the financial cost for equestrian sports as the largest hurdle but Reynolds says this is improving.

    “The cost is always going to be somewhat high because it is expensive to take really good care of horses but there are heavily subsidised camps for those who want to get involved but worry about the cost.”

    The future of the sport may also be improved if Reynolds makes it to the Olympics in 2020. “I really want to go in 2020 but it all depends on Vancouver K, JP to us.”

    Reynolds says the horses are essentially her partner when it comes to competing.

    “We are working hard with other horses coming up behind Vancouver K, so hopefully we will be ready by the time 2020 comes around.”

    It is too soon for Reynolds to be contemplating retiring but for her, Ireland is home.  “If I could do what I do here (Germany) in Ireland, I would,” said Reynolds.

    The Olympian has had a hugely successful career to date and based on her determined tone and focused attitude towards competing, it is fair to say her career is far from its final hurdle.