When she was asked by Image magazine last month to describe her daily routine, Katie O’Brien gave an insight to what it takes to perform at the elite level of sport: “Up, eat, train, shower, eat again, rest, train again, shower again, eat again, rest again, bed!”
If that wasn’t enough to be getting on with, since taking up rowing in 2013 O’Brien has also had to find space in that routine for her studies and, once they were complete, her work as a vet.
It’s easy, of course, for those of us with somewhat less taxing schedules to assume that the good times must make it all worthwhile, but when she stood on that podium in Račice last month, with a World Championship gold medal around her neck, O’Brien had the look of a woman who had no regrets about the efforts she has put in to her sport.
It was an outstanding performance from the Para rower in the four-boat PR2 single sculls final, the Galway woman leading from start to finish and beating reigning world champion, Kathryn Ross of Australia, by 10 seconds.
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Until then, her career highlight had been the World Championship bronze she won in Austria three years before, the work she had put in since then taking her to another level.
Considering that there was a doubt when she was a child that she would even be able to walk, after being born with spina bifida, O’Brien’s achievements are all the more remarkable, capping what was a hugely successful few days in the Czech Republic for the Irish team. Along with Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy’s gold, there were bronze medals for Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey in the lightweight double sculls and Sanita Puspure and Zoe Hyde in the double sculls.
A while back, O’Brien revealed her guilty pleasures to be “Netflix, chocolate and Doritos”. You can only hope she has rewarded herself with a daily routine of nothing else since striking gold. You’d be doubtful, though.
Previous Monthly Winner (the awards run from December 2021 to November 2022, inclusive):
December: Ellen Walshe (Swimming)
The young Dubliner became the first Irish woman to medal at a World Championships when she took silver in the 400m Individual Medley in Abu Dhabi. Along the way, she broke five Irish records, smashing the oldest, Michelle Smith’s 1994 400m Individual Medley mark.
January: Lucy Mulhall (Rugby)
The Wicklow woman captained Ireland to their first ever World Rugby Sevens Series final in Seville and was named in the team of the tournament. She and her teammates took that form to Bucharest where Mulhall led them to qualification for September’s World Cup, in which they finished seventh.
February: Leona Maguire (Golf)
The highlight of another excellent season for Maguire came at the Drive On Championship in Florida where she became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour. And she now has three top 10 finishes in majors to her name, including a share of fourth at the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield.
March: Rachael Blackmore (Horse racing)
Our 2021 sportswoman of the year had another Cheltenham to remember, winning The Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle and the Gold Cup on A Plus Tard - making her the holder of those two crowns as well as the English Grand National all at the same time.
April: Katie Taylor (Boxing)
Our five-time Sportswoman of the Year made herself a contender for the overall award yet again after an epic fight against Amanda Serrano in front of a crowd of 20,000 in Madison Square Garden. The 35-year-old, now unbeaten in 21 professional fights, retained her WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO lightweight titles with a split decision victory.
May: Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O’Rourke (Boxing)
Following in the path of Katie Taylor, Michael Conlan and Kellie Harrington, the pair brought to five the number of Ireland’s amateur world champions when they both struck gold at the World Championships in Turkey. Broadhurst went on to add a Commonwealth Games gold medal to her collection.
June: Rhasidat Adeleke (Athletics)
It’s been a terrific year for the 19-year-old who has broken five Irish records since January. And in June she became the first Irish woman to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association sprint title when she was part of the triumphant University of Texas team in the 4x100m.
July: Niamh O’Sullivan (Gaelic football)
The player of the match in the All Ireland final, O’Sullivan not only top-scored for Meath, she led from the front, driving them on from a five point deficit against Kerry to retain their title, her 45th minute goal proving pivotal.
August: Ciara Mageean (Athletics)
A season to remember for the Portaferry athlete, winning 1500m silver medals in both the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, before becoming the first Irish woman to break the four minute barrier at the same distance in Brussels, smashing Sonia O’Sullivan’s 27-year-old national record in the process.
