When a sportsperson recieves a medal, lifts a trophy or reaches a personal goal, it is not just them that is celebrating. Friends, family, coaches and team mates share in the glory and a sports therapist is no exception. Here, Kim Ingleby, gives us a glimpse into her life as she works alongside some of Britain’s top althletes, sharing the highs, the lows, the late nights and Hungarian food…
Name: Kim Ingleby BSc (Hons)
Date: Friday 10th September - Day 3 of work!
Location: GB Team Hotel, Budapest
Event: World Triathlon Championships
Position: Sports Therapist and NLP Performance Coach
Team Managers: Malcolm Westwood & Jasmine Flatters
Time: 6am
The alarm wakes me …. Early morning training sessions are just the best! And essential when you are working with the GB Age Group Squad which totals plus 500, so once work begins, escape from the treatment room is limited.
So I find myself this morning doing speed intervals along the edge of the River Danube with the mist swirling and the rain pouring down. There is, however, always something reviving and uplifting about hard training in the rain!
On my way back to the team hotel, I run along with one of my Sprint distance athletes and we discuss his race strategy – exciting as he has progressively been improving his times and looks set to do so once again.
Time: 8.30am
Breakfast in the team hotel is a buffet of every form of food you could imagine and just what is required. The therapist team of Kevin (CID Police and part time therapist!), Aurelie (French English therapist), Becky (Welsh English therapist) & myself (Scottish English therapist) discuss the day over about three sittings. We have all worked at major championships so the support and knowledge we share is brilliant.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Related stories:
Triathlon: Helen Jenkins unsuccessful in World champs podium bid
Triathlon: Helen Jenkins looks to crack top three in Budapest
The most common sporting injuries - and how to avoid them
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Time 9am
Treatments start with athletes booking 20 mins slots so no rest, and it is key to stick to time!
We treat everyone from athletes representing GB for the first time to those who have represented GB for years and years. Some require a basic pre race treatment whilst others need injuries worked with to get them to the start line – including tapping, strapping, stretching etc.
Every hour is different; I had Gold, Silver and Bronze medallists on the couch, a 79 year old age grouper, and a parathlete (these guys and their guides are inspirational). All bring stories of races experiences, hopes and fears, aspirations and dreams.
It is our job to get their bodies in the best condition whilst calming their nerves and giving them the confidence to achieve their full potential.
Treatments today ran pretty much back to back from 9am to 7pm with Becky and Aurelie doing a quick lunch run to a Costa Coffee in the Hungarian supermarket. A life saver, combined with energy bars and plenty of water!
By the end of the day we had averaged 35 treatments each and everyone was ready for the race weekend to begin.
Time 7.30pm
My specialist area is to enhance the mind and body so most evenings I am booked to do a ‘Mental Strength’ session for an athlete, either to enhance their performance and increase their ability to get into the zone or to remove a limiting belief. Tonight’s session involved an hour of working with an athlete hoping to win a medal, using semi trance and linguistic patterns… really rewarding … fingers and toes crossed for the race now!
Time 9pm
Off to find the rest of the support team – therapists, bike mechanics and the team managers for some food and a debrief for the day. We discovered that Hungarian food consists of a lot of meat and cheese and followed by a free slice of chocolate cake if you finish your main course! Very entertaining and quite tasty! The conversation was highly amusing due to everyone’s tiredness and we all left for bed after much entertainment.
Time 10.45pm
Sleep time..
Outcome ….
I have worked for the GB Triathlon Age Group Team since 2006, travelling all over the world. It is a wonderful experience, meeting so many great people and having the chance to influence their race in a positive way is wonderful.
I am so happy and proud for all the athletes that we treated achieving the results they wished for, especially the ones I look after regularly including Sophie Whitworth who is now World, European & National Champion – brilliant!!
Will I do it again? Definitely! Whether we are in Spain, China or Las Vegas next year depending on where we are selected to go to….
How to get involved:
Applications are made to British triathlon in January, roles are voluntary and require a level of experience and training.
Kim Ingleby, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
