‘It’s about staying there until the final selection is made’ – Nadia Power on target for Olympic dream

Nadia Power, newly announced Toyota ambassador and Irish athlete is pictured as Toyota look forward to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Toyota is a worldwide mobility partner to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Toyota are leaders in mobility and their Start Your Impossible campaign celebrates the best of human performance and can be viewed on www.toyota.ie. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

Sean McGoldrick

March 23 2021 06:19 PM

NADIA Power has set her sights on the summer Olympics after her indoor season ended on a disappointing note at the European Indoor championships where she bowed out in the semi-final of the 800m.

She has no regrets about her tactics in the race but acknowledged it was her poorest race of the year. “It was definitely the worst I felt during the season,” she said.

It was always her plan to inject pace into the race around the halfway point but on the day her legs did not respond in the manner she had expected.

“I think that (tactic) is my strength and I have to go for it, but it wasn’t there on the day. I think the tactic would have worked for me at a different time throughout the season and I would have finished stronger. I don’t really have a strong finishing kick, so I had to try and go for it.”

But her exploits on the European indoor circuit significantly enhanced her prospects of securing an Olympic spot if the rescheduled Games go ahead as planned in the summer.

The top 48 ranked 800m runners at the end of June will secure places. Now the 23-year-old DCU student is well within the cut-off point lying 35th having been 59th at the start of the year.

“But it’s about staying there until June when the final selection is made. But if I can get an Olympic standard in the meantime, great, as then my place is 100 percent guaranteed.”

Achieving the automatic qualifying time of 1.59.50 would a tall order as Power would have to dip under Ciara Mageean’s Irish record of 1.59.69 and become only the second Irish female to break two minutes.

However, Power accepts that she is only at the start of her international career.

"I think I've gained a lot of independence from travelling around (Europe) and navigating all the restrictions around Covid-19 and stuff. It's made me more independent and able to manage things alone. I've learned I can perform well with a lot of other things going on - managing college and stuff like that.

"But I still need to step it up if I want to really compete seriously, going for a medal at Europeans, going to the Olympics, there's a lot more work to do there.

"But it was my first senior championship and it's important to remember that lots of progress was made and hopefully I will be better in the future."

Once her outdoor season begins in May Power will be donning the new so called super-spikes which she didn’t use during the indoor campaign.

“I’m just waiting for the Adidas version to be released. What we have all learned is wear them or get left behind. So, I will be wearing them. That’s how it is on the roads (in racing) and that’s how it is going to be on the track too I guess.”

*Nadia Power is an ambassador for Toyota

Online Editors

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