“I just want to focus on taking things year by year rather than making it a big Olympic cycle” – Power
Templeogue’s Nadia Power is refusing to look too far ahead towards Paris 2024, and instead, wants to focus on the many things that she can achieve between now and then

“I just want to focus on taking things year by year rather than making it a big Olympic cycle” – Power

NADIA Power is refusing to look as far ahead as the Paris Olympics in 2024, insisting international championships next year, if not a possible European Cross Country Relay challenge in December, will be her sole focus for now.

Despite having enjoyed a tremendous year overall, the Templeogue athlete was left disappointed with her performance at the Tokyo Summer Games after she missed out on a place in the semi finals of the 800m when finishing seventh in her heat.

Having taken some time out since returning home from the Olympics, Power has been back in training and will be building up in the hope of a late winter challenge.

left in 2021” she told The Echo. “I’m just going to try and get a lot done with winter training, try a few new things now that we can.

“Then there’s European Cross Country Championships in Abbotstown this year in December. There is a mixed relay which I competed in at the last European Championships when we finished seventh, so I’m hoping to be part of that again.

“I don’t really know how it’s going to be picked and I didn’t run a 1500m this summer, so that probably won’t help me because they usually go off your 1500m time over the summer.

“But I’m definitely going to put my name forward and aim to be fit to compete in that because it would be great to be at home for that. So that’s my winter goal at the moment” she said.

Looking back at her time with Team Ireland in Tokyo this summer, Power insisted “I think the Olympic experience was really good and it was great to be part of the team and the excitement at home was nice.

“But it was just a bit challenging for me because I picked up a cold the week before in the holding camp and that’s exactly what you don’t want. It meant I had to miss a few days of training and that really showed in my race.

“I’ve just been so disappointed in my race since. I never really felt good in it. I just didn’t feel like myself.

“So I have mixed feelings looking back. It was a great experience, but it’s just hard to know that your worst race of the year was at the Olympics when everyone was watching.”

With so much potential international competition to occupy her attention in 2022, Power is not intent on taking a Paris-cycle approach, but rather prefers to focus on small steps towards hopefully a return to the Olympic stage.

“The plan is to stick with the 800m, but I’m not really thinking about Paris yet. I just don’t want to build something up as much.

“I went to the Olympics and got the experience. Now I just want to focus on getting used to competing at that level and not having that build-up that I had for Tokyo that made it such a big deal, because I think that was then my downfall.

“The year that it was and the summer, it took so much out of me that when I got there, it was just too much for me.

“So I just want to focus on taking things year by year rather than making it a big Olympic cycle.

“There’s so many championships before Paris now and so many goals I can set myself every season. Before we know it, it will be time to go for Paris.

“It’s hard because everyone else builds it up for you.

“I’ve had so many people bringing up Paris to me already and, to be honest, I don’t really want to talk about it because there’s so much I can do before it. All those goals I set myself are all a step towards Paris, so I’m not thinking about it.

“There’s a good few championships [in 2022] but I’m not 100 percent sure which ones I’m going to target yet.

“There’s World Indoors and World Outdoors, there’s European Championships and maybe even a World University Games. That’s too many to do so I need to decide with my coach what we’re going to target.

“I guess I’ll aim for two of them hopefully and improve along the way, get faster, fitter and stronger and improve my times” she said.

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