Summerhill canoeist on course to fulfil Olympic dream
JIMMY GEOGHEGAN
The destination is Tokyo. The year 2020. The event the Olympic Games.
Young Summerhill woman Caoimhe O'Ferrall is on a journey and she knows where she wants to go - and the Japanese city is right up there at the top of the list for next year's Olympics.
O’Ferrall - who is one of Ireland's top women performers in the C1 canoe slalom discipline at both u-23 and senior levels - hopes to represent her country in the biggest sporting extravaganza on the globe - and to do that she has had to embark on a lengthy journey that has contained a considerable number of stop-offs; some scheduled, some not.
Last month the 21-year-old passed a significant milestone on that journey when in a competition in La Seu d'Urgell, in sunny Spain she qualified for the Irish u-23 and senior teams for the Senior World Championships in September. They also will be held in La Seu D'Urgell.
That was always a big target because it's at the World Championships she has a chance to reach the standard required to earn a place in Tokyo - and take another step, a very significant step, on her journey.
It's a journey that has already taken O'Ferrall to various locations around Europe. Locations such as La Seu d'Urgell and Nottingham where she combines her studies in Fine Art at the local Trent University with training using top class facilities. Then there was her trip to Prague last May to take part in the u-23 and Junior European Championships.
“Ah Prague,” she adds , the 'ah' signifying something something very significant that happened in that famous city by the Danube a year ago.
“That was a not a good day,” she explains. “My coach and I were driving to training to a Saturday morning in the city. When following the road around a bend we were hit in the side of the van and flipped on our side.
“The driver who hit us was drunk and high at the time. People had to climb onto the top of the van to help us out of the van. It was very scary. This was at 7.10am.
At first everything seemed fine with O'Ferrall and she could be forgiven for thinking that luck was on her side, and that she and her coach, had come through a very traumatic experience unscathed. Which, of course, was true to a point but there was still a significant fall-out from the accident.
“We had no serious injuries at the time but later in the season I developed delayed whiplash and struggled with my shoulders and back for the whole season but I tried to race the best I could.
Caoimhe O'Ferrall in full flight.
“After some time we thought there was something wrong, so we went to get an MRI and then went to the Leinster Clinic in Maynooth. I got some work done and was told it was classic delayed whiplash.
“It takes time to heal. That is not something you don't want to hear when you have the u-23 and Junior European championships in Bratislava. Only because I have a sports scholarship at my university was I able to get physio support and gym support and all that has helped to balance out my damaged shoulders and back. For that I am grateful.”
O'Ferrall's journey back to fitness has been sometimes painful, sometimes slow, but she has got there with her inner drive fuelling her comeback. Knocked off course she's got back on track - and continued on her journey.
O'Ferrall grew up in Summerhill and attended primary school in Kilcock and Mount Sackville Secondary School, Dublin. She is one of five in her family with three older brothers and one younger sister. Then there is her mother Elizabeth and father David who
always encouraged their
youngsters to develop their sporting interests. That was crucial in fostering Caoimhe's canoeing career.
“My Mam was involved in canoeing until she fractured a disc in her back which meant she could not paddle anymore. She used to coach us in canoe polo down on the Canal in Kilcock. We were involved with Kilcock canoe polo club for years. On thing about my parents have always done is drive us everywhere, be it rugby training or matches, hockey training and matches, swimming, horse riding lessons, canoeing camps across Europe or training and even races. All these sports brought us together as a family and I am grateful for that.”
Encouraged by family members O'Ferrall developed a liking, then a love for canoeing - and she has stayed with it, learning from her mistakes, refusing to be bowed by setbacks.
Caoimhe O'Ferrall has travelled far in pursuit of her dream.
She is now the only member of her family to compete in canoeing at a competitive level. It doesn't help that there are no real facilities for her sport in Ireland; no proper funding either.
Yet O'Ferrall works hard to hone her skills. She knows there's no other way. It's about graft and application - and a deep-rooted will to win. She's competitive, motivated, her drive partly demonstrated in the way her day's training often starts at 6am, if not before.
“I train twice a day, every day apart from Sunday. Sunday is a rest day. The number of hours I do really depends on what session I am doing. It might be on the water or off the water such as in the gym, or running. I do around nine to 11 paddling sessions, two to three gym sessions and a run or two a week. Each week changes. Depending on how high in intensity the week is,” she adds.
“I am lucky as I can study what I want to study alongside paddling at good facilities at the white-water centre in Holme Pierrepont (a country park close to
Nottingham).”
Her hard work has paid off too. In 2015 as a junior, on her debut in senior races, in the Senior World Championships in London she was placed 28th in the heats. At junior level O'Ferrall has won both gold and silver in C1 in the European Canoe Association Cup races. In 2016 she won the Alsace Regional Championships in France which resulted in her being promoted to the top division in France in N1 -
an they are just some of her successes.
There is a price to pay in achieving such triumphs. It can be all very expensive financially for a start and for that she is grateful for the unstinting support of her parents. Then there are other challenges involved.
“My biggest challenge would be missing home. Missing the support system of my family and helping me when I need to get something done quickly. No questions asked.
“You don't need to beg someone to help you when it is your family. You ask and it is always a yes,” she adds.
Such backing has helped Caoimhe O'Ferrall greatly on her journey. It's a journey with many twists and turns but along the way she has achieved some significant dreams too and right up there has been the chance to represent her country - “my wee little country of Ireland” - is how she puts it. Now there's the bigger target; the ultimate destination - Tokyo 2020.
If she doesn't get there she will have the consolation of knowing she gave it everything. Everything. And at 21 - as Mick Jagger might sing - time is on her side.