Kathryn Thomson reckons riding the rocky speed skating rollercoaster has revitalised her bid for Winter Olympic glory.
The Kilmarnock ace will spearhead Team GB’s three-strong short track squad in Beijing as she takes to the ice for her second Games.
But it’s been a far from straightforward four-year cycle since Pyeonghang 2018, with the Scot taking a year out of the sport to banish her mental demons and get her career back on track.
The skates are now strapped firmly back on and with just days until she competes in the Chinese capital, Thomson is determined to complete ‘unfinished business’ ahead of Beijing 2022 and beyond.
“These past four years have been very bumpy for many different reasons," the 26-year-old said.
“Last season I took the whole season out of sport – I stayed home and focused on other things off the ice.
“My base level of fitness, my robustness around injury and a little bit of mental health – overall wellness.
“I moved back in Kilmarnock. I worked in Dunelm. It was very different from being an athlete. From a mental point of view, it was a huge breath of fresh air.
“It was a very focused year off – I had clear goals and there were different things I wanted to work on so I made sure I was still very disciplined so that my comeback wasn’t as difficult.
“It was a huge concern and multiple times during the year off I did doubt myself. But I just thought I need to trust the process. It’s what I needed at the time so I had to listen to my body and my mind.
“I haven’t made my mind up yet [about carrying on]. But I do feel like I’ve got some unfinished business and I would like to be in Milan [at the 2026 Olympics].
“Ultimately, I’ll need to make that decision based on how Beijing goes.”
Thomson will compete in all three of the 500m, 1000m and 1500m events in Beijing and is joined by brothers Farrell – who also featured in Pyeongchang – and Niall Treacy.
She’s shown promising signs of form on the globetrotting World Cup circuit as a 500m personal best in the Netherlands, bolstered by a fifth-placed finish in Japan, kept her in Olympic contention.
Thomson boasts international pedigree beyond her years and having scooped a searing European Championship silver in 2014, represents Team GB’s most experienced short track speed skater in China.
She was unable to progress beyond the 500m, 1000m or 1500m heats in South Korea four years ago and hopes memories of that disappointment can fire her to success next month.
“I’m going to be a lot more focused and not overwhelmed by everything that is at the Olympics as I found Pyeongchang very overwhelming,” added Thomson, whose journey to the Games has been fuelled by a £20,000 injection of funding to short track speed skating via UK Sport’s Beijing Support Fund.
“I felt a lot calmer going into the competitions this season. Hopefully I can take that into the Games and carry that confidence from the World Cups. .
“Success in Beijing would be that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it but that I’ve also got the best out of me.”
UK Sport has an ambition to become an ever-greater force in winter sport. The Beijing Support Fund, which utilises Government and National Lottery investment, demonstrates UK Sport’s commitment to a wider group of sports, athletes and teams in the high-performance community as part of its mission to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments; reaching, inspiring and uniting the nation. For more information, visit www.uksport.gov.uk
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