GO GOLD Athlete of the Week: Niamh Noble

Describe your typical day (including training, school, etc.). My typical day will include either an early morning one to one lesson with my coach for an hour from 7.45 – 8.45.. We focus a lot on technique and the smaller details that can affect my performance in competition. I have breakfast between my coaching lesson and classes. I will then have lessons from 9.30 am – 3.30pm (Tuesday-Thursday). On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I finish college at 12.30 and I will attend the gym and complete a session from my program with one of the coaches there to support. This will last roughly an hour. My gym sessions now are about building strength and explosive power in my legs. I am also doing a lot of stability work to avoid injury. I often go straight from the gym to dinner most nights. On a Wednesday my gym session is at 1pm and I have a fencing club night from 6-9pm in Malvern. To keep on top of my work I attend a 6.30-8.30 study period which is compulsory on a Tuesday and Thursday night

If you won the lottery what would be the first thing that you bought? If I won the lottery I would probably buy a new sword and a new set of 800 Newton fencing kit. This will help because I can keep one set for national and international competitions. I can use the other kit for training.

What has been your biggest challenge? My biggest challenge is changing the way I fence and understanding how I do not always have to win every competition. I have also learnt that mentality and become positive to the finest details, which can have a huge impact on performance. The challenge for me would have been learning to control those emotions and use the nerves positively.

What's the best thing that your sport has enabled you to do? Fencing has allowed me to meet some close friends that support me not only with my fencing but my life away from fencing. It has also become something that my family take part in and it is great to have their support.

What is your proudest accomplishment (doesn't have to be sport related)? My proudest accomplishment would be when I got chosen to represent England at my first international Competition in Poland when I was 15. This was a great opportunity as it was useful to see how other European fencers compete and how different the competition standard was. I finished 86 out of 200 fencers which was amazing as I achieved my goal of making it into the top 100 fencers at the event.

The picture is of me in my first international competition. Taken March 2016

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be? I would love to travel across some States of America. Fencing is quite a popular sport in America and the standard of fencing due to the funding is amazing.

I love the idea of travelling across America and seeing the different cultures, climates and people across the different states.