Great British Olympic medal hopeful Niamh Emerson is driving into 2021 with a sponsorship deal with telecoms company Yappl.
Heptathlete Niamh joined Toni Minichiello after advice from Jessica who has been mentoring the 21-year-old.
Her training has now moved to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield from Loughborough University where she had rehabilitated after a year-long knee injury.
She said: “Toni has changed my set-up and the training is intensive but good.
“It is crazy how much I have improved in the last month.
“At this stage, I am training super hard and then, as I get closer to competition, the volume will decrease and I will get faster.
“It is quite different to what I was doing before, so I really struggled at the start but now I am feeling the benefits.”
Niamh was one of 117 British Athletics offered membership of the 2020/2021 Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programme.
She is confident of making the team which will be announced on June 28 but admits that she has further ambitions for the Paris Olympics of 2024 and the Los Angeles Games of 2028.
She added: “Older athletes tend to do well in heptathlon, so my goal is to get to Tokyo and then to go for medals in 2024 and 2028.
“Jess was 26 when she won the gold medal in London.”
Niamh’s sponsorship with Yappl includes a new car, big enough to store all her equipment, and the most up-to-date phone technology, so she can keep in touch from Tokyo in the summer.
She said: “I am driving all the time to Sheffield from Loughborough and I go to Leeds for physio, so the car has been really handy.
“And I love my iPhone 12 Pro Max – it is fantastic.”
Niamh was at a training camp in Dubai in January where many British athletes had gym and track access with the support of physios and medics.
She is looking forward to heptathlon competitions in April, May and June before the selection announcement but for now, it’s hard training.
“Yesterday, got to track at 9.30 and didn’t finish until 7.
“We did shot putt and hurdle drill, drove to the outdoor track, did 300s and 200s and then we had a lunchbreak and on to the gym for two hours.
“It’s hard work but it will be worth it!” she said.
