Hammer thrower Tara Simpson-Sullivan’s Olympic dream has been boosted by her inclusion on an official British Athletics pathway for future medal hopefuls.
Tara is nearing the end of a stellar year in which she won the British title, celebrated her first GB call-up and set a new personal best distance of 68.91.
And the 20-year-old, from Lowther, learned her achievements had secured her inclusion on the British Athletics Olympic and Paralympic Futures Academy programme which, she hopes, will fit gaps in her training timetable.
Futures Academy selection, according to a spokesman for the governing body, is a “key step in the pathway to support athlete and coach development with the aim to progress to become a successful senior athlete”. This could pave the way for transition on to a world class programme in the next cycle, supporting “those who have highlighted the potential to succeed” on the Olympic stage.
Delighted Tara told the Herald this will allow her to work with a sports psychologist — as she is keen to do — and, separately, with a performance coach as she plans for the next chapter of training and competition once she completes her American studies.
It will also give her access to elite level training facilities in Leeds, at Loughborough and in Birmingham.
“For me that will be very helpful because there aren’t a lot of places, in and around Penrith at least, that have consistent throwing areas. So those will be pretty good and they’re very hi-tech facilities; there will be a lot of technology and equipment that I’ll have access to that I wouldn’t otherwise,” she said.
“Any help I can get will be more than welcome, so I’m very happy that I’ve got on to the programme. I guess I just hope that I can continue improving at the same kind of level that I have been doing so I can continue on it.”
Currently she is in her third year of study for a major in psychology and sport management at Rice University in Houston, Texas, through a four-year sports scholarship.
Tara hopes to continue into a fifth year — the extra one being possible because of the COVID impact — and follow a consistent training schedule with the same coach leading up to the Paris Olympics of 2024.
Reflecting on her successes this year, she said: “When I was in season I was always kind of wanting more, the best I could get at the time. Looking back I realise how far I actually came.
“And even though obviously I had two years from the last time I competed, it’s still a huge jump of improvement in distance. I am very happy with my season I think it was really the kick-start of me genuinely believing in myself that I could take the next step at a senior level.
“I love setting goals and it absolutely fully exceeded all of my goals.”
Tara, who previously studied at Penrith’s Ullswater Community College and Newton Rigg College, said her main sport growing up was hockey before she switched her attention to hammer throwing and, more recently, targeting a place at the Olympics.
“I thought the hammer would be pretty cool,” she said. “Since about 2018 it (the Olympics) has been a distant goal but I really think this past season solidifies that goal for me.
“My goal could actually become a reality, and I am pretty young still so even if I don’t make (Paris) 2024, I could still make 2028 and 2032.”
Tara will return to Eden to see family this month after turning 21, before focusing on the next competitive season.
Her sights are firmly set on the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and, either side of those, the world championships in Oregon and the European championships in Munich.
Tara’s mother is Tracy, she has a sister, Mia, and her grandmother, Ruth, lives in Penrith.
“My mum and grandma are definitely my two biggest supporters. If I don’t perform very well, I still get a text message from the both saying “you did so well”; even if I’m thinking ‘I did absolutely horrendous’,” she said.
