Yesterday saw the culmination of years of dedication, commitment and athleticism in the form of the 800m heats for Nadia Power, and while the Team Ireland runner has failed to qualify for the subsequent semis and final, she has a lot to be proud of having made her Olympic debut.
The DCU Marketing student alongside Louise Shanahan and Síofra Cléirigh Büttner was amid a trio of Irish females to have successfully made it to the event in Tokyo, with all three having placed seventh in their heats.
Power who ran in race two in a time of 2:03 told RTE in a post contest interview that she was “disappointed” and that her legs “just didn’t go where [she] wanted them to go.”
"I'm disappointed, I don't really know why I was so off there..." - Nadia Power missed out on qualifying in the 800m heats.#olympics #tokyo2020 #RTESport
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/lLKXNhKPkF
📱 Updates – https://t.co/RB2R16yhlb… pic.twitter.com/fZxukgoF4I— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 30, 2021
“I don’t really know why I was so off there. I don’t really have an answer. Everything went well preparation wise” she said.
“I definitely did execute [the strategy] I just didn’t have anything to work my way through the group in the last 100m.”
“I’m proud to be an Olympian but that’s not all I wanted. I wanted to preform my best and I was very sure I could so to not do that today is really going to be tough to take.”
Speaking to HerSport in an exclusive interview prior to the competition, the 23-year-old alluded to the elite nature of the Olympics in that “absolutely everyone shows up.”
“I really am I'm racing the best of the best and they're all going to bring their A game” she said.
“I'm just very aware that like I need to absolutely be on it next week and I'm very confident I can be, but I do think it's going to take one of my best performances, if not the best to make it out of the heats.”
Having only set the goal to venture to Tokyo 2020 back in 2019, Power is acutely aware of how much the extra year has benefitted her in that she went on to have one of her most impressive periods in recent times, setting the 800m record just last February.
Here’s Nadia Power’s new Irish record of 2:00.98 in Toruń. She’s now 5th fastest European of the year. Pics from @WorldAthletics/@sport_tvppl pic.twitter.com/sGJ7c32pp2
— Will Downing (@WillDowningComm) February 17, 2021
To what does she attribute such success too? Consistency.
“I think making a lot of smart decisions as well with my coach” she says.
“And not overdoing it too, knowing when to pull back and when to push harder. That type of thing has really helped me.”
“I think that shows in my races as well.”
With no qualms as to how viable that statement is the Dublin natives’ intentions’ can be made crystal clear when magnified under the following guise.
What’s the first thing you are going to do when back from Tokyo?
“Oh God. Probably go back to training.”
