GO GOLD Athlete of the Week: Caitlin Roper

Posted: Mon, 7 Aug 2017 12:09

GO GOLD Athlete of the Week: Caitlin Roper

As part of our GO GOLD coverage, Caitlin Roper has taken time away from the track/bike/water to provide a bit of an insight into her life!

The aspiring triathlete has already represented GB and with a number of strong finishes behind her, the future looks bright. She told us a little bit more about those achievements and more.

  • What is your proudest accomplishment?

To date, my proudest sporting accomplishment is qualifying this year for the Elite Junior European Triathlon Championships. It was my main goal this season and so I was very happy and honoured to have qualified to represent my country. Not relating strictly to sport, I have been awarded a sports scholarship to Queens University for Charlotte, in North Carolina, in the US for Triathlon. I'm starting in under a month and currently my emotions are very mixed but mainly I'm excited!

• What has been your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge has been my self confidence in my own ability which has in the past held me back from performing to my full potential.

• What would be your 3 essential items if you were stuck on a desert island?

Ihope this never happens but if I was stuck on a desert Island, the 3 essential items for me would be a knife, a good book and some strong suncream!

• Describe your typical day (including training, school etc.)

So for the last 2 years, my day would start at 04:00am as my first training session of the day would be my morning swim session, 05:00am till 07:00am. The last 2 years I have also been completing my A Levels, I went straight to school and studied for an extra hour before lessons started. With training again in the evening, I would often work through my break and lunch too, making sure I got all my homework done on time. School for me finished at 16:00pm but I would often stay after school and carry on revising before going home, having dinner and then going straight onto training again. If I had swimming the following morning, after training I would have a shower, a snack and then go straight to bed which would normally be around 21/2:00pm. This is clearly going to all change now though when I go to University as I'll have both a new training and class schedule.

• How would your friends describe you?

They would probably describe me as independent, verging on stubborn and strong minded. They would probably say I offer not the most sympathetic but constructive advice, slightly blunt maybe.

• Do you have anything else that you'd like us to know?

As much as we all say thank you, the funding provided is truly appreciated and there are many experiences that have made me the athlete I am today, that only became opportunities to me because of the funding so thank you!

To follow Caitlin's progress, visit her blog at: http://www.lrsport.org/profiles/caitlin-roper

Tags: Active Lifestyle, Cycling, Featured, GO GOLD, News, Running, Swimming, Triathlon