If you haven't heard who
Kate O'Brien is we recommend you read up on her and keep an eye out for her
this coming Olympic year. A former bobsled athlete recently turned
track-cyclist, O'Brien is making a push for an Olympic spot and it all started
with an awesome performance at the World Cup 2 weeks ago. Kate's on the blog
today to recap her most recent competition.
"We went into
this World Cup aiming for another top eight, with the hopes for higher, ideally
a top six performance. We were still in a bit of a precarious position for
Olympic qualification. Another solid race here would hopefully widen our lead
over Mexico and close the gap on Colombia. After a few nerves, we rode our race
and ended up 5th with a new personal best time and closer than we have been to
the top countries in the world. Not only did we beat Mexico and Colombia, but
we beat a number of other countries that have always been miles ahead of us,
finishing about 3/ 100ths out of the finals. It was more than we had thought by
far. Again, we're not quite out of the woods as far as qualification goes, but
it's pretty incredible to think that one day soon we may have a real shot at
being among the top in the world.
I think the ticket
for us this time was to really keep our heads in what WE wanted to accomplish,
rather than worrying about uncontrollable things like how the other teams would
go. There is still more work to do (there always is!) but I think I speak for
both of us when I say that we are really excited for what's to come. We still
have a lot of improving that we can do, which is a great thing as it means that
with more training (and a bit of luck ;)) we can be among those coveted top
four by the end of this season. Tonight I felt such gratefulness, not at the
result (though I was grateful for that!), but for the fact that we were put in
the position to have to fight. After our disappointing continental
championships, we really had to rally our bodies and our minds. We were put in
a position of fight or flight and thanks to some great people supporting us we
have been able to fight. In all honesty, I don't know that we would have
finished where we did today were it not for the fire that was lit inside of us.
We were able to aim higher than just "beat who we need to beat", and
move into "let's try to be the best we can be".
On Saturday I
competed in my second ever World Cup sprint tournament. As I mentioned
following Colombia, I was a bit disappointed, finishing 25th in the
qualification and not getting into the tournament (24 went through). This time
around, that was my goal- top 24 in the qualifications and then getting into
the rounds. I always feel a bit of trepidation when I'm in a sprint tournament-
like I don't belong or am too new. I have really been trying to work on that
and at this World Cup, I felt that my competitive head was in the best place it
has been for a while. The field was immensely close in times, so I was
pleasantly surprised to find that I had qualified 12th which was a few
hundredths off of some of the top girls. I was stoked to move up 11 places from
last World Cup and I finally felt like I had a real opportunity to show my
stuff in the match sprints! I was matched with a girl who was pretty much the
same speed as me, nearly down to the thousandth. Unfortunately I was knocked
out in the first round. That said, since I started sprints, I have really felt
like a fish out of water; there are so many tactics involved, kind of like
playing chess at 60km/ h. Though I didn't come out on top on Saturday, and I
still have a lot to learn, I felt like I took a pretty big step. I managed to
wrap my head around things a bit better and come closer than I had before. I am
looking forward to the next World Cup in Hong Kong where I'll hopefully get
another shot to show my stuff, this time deeper into the sprint rounds!
At the moment, we
have been given a few days off before getting back to training in Milton pre-
Christmas. I am staying in New Zealand a bit longer and will return to Milton
on Thursday. Then back to it on Friday with a double day- whew! I feel really
hungry for the next chapter- stay tuned!"
Stay hungry Kate - we are
so excited to keep you fuelled and hydrated on your Road to Rio!