OLYMPIC sailing medallist and ex Lomond School pupil Charlotte Dobson took over her former school’s Instagram account last week to show what a day in lockdown looks like for a world-class athlete.
The 33-year-old from Shandon, who represented Team GB at the 2016 Games in Rio, shared insights into her fitness regime, the importance of resilience and her disappointment upon hearing of the postponement of this year’s Olympics in Tokyo, where she was due to compete alongside Saskia Tidey in the women’s 49er FX category.
The duo – along with all the other British sailors who had been set to travel to Japan this summer, including Charlotte’s Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club (RNCYC) stablemates Luke Patience and Anna Burnet – have all since been told that they’ve retained their places for the rescheduled Games in 2021.
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Streaming from the popular social media channel, Charlotte said: “When we got told the Olympics would be postponed for a year, honestly I was hugely disappointed. My sailing partner Sas and I felt like we were ready to put down our best performance as we had just picked up a silver at the World Championships.
“We fully understand they couldn’t possibly have run the Olympics; it is one of the moveable events in life that we just have to be resilient to.
“The process of being resilient involved us being honest about how we felt – the Olympic campaign is so consuming in all of your life. I was really worried about how I was going to cope living at this level mentally and physically.”
And Charlotte shared how she maintains a healthy body and mind while in lockdown, as she continues to train and prepare for Tokyo 2021.
“I spoke to Sas, who felt similar, to our coach Stevie and to our wider team about everything,” she continued.
“By acknowledging this fear, we put a few key things in place to make sure we would be OK.
“One of those things is increased physical gym work, it keeps our minds and bodies busy in lockdown.
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“I wouldn’t usually do five gym sessions in a day; instead I would do two and swap in the extra sessions with sailing practice.
“What it really is achieving is mental and physical preparation for when we can get back to the water and into a routine again.
“At the moment we are trying to replicate a regatta week, or what a boat handling training week would be like, with various sessions similar to different race day scenarios.”
Charlotte is a ‘sailing ambassador’ at the school, along with fellow sailing champions and Lomond ex-pupils Anna Burnet and Lorenzo Chiavarini.
Having first learned to sail on Loch Lomond, Charlotte hopes to encourage aspiring athletes to maintain fitness and a healthy life during lockdown.
Sailing is embedded within the curriculum at Lomond School as part of a focus on adventure, taught on its own fleet of dinghies and in partnership with RNCYC.
Johanna Urquhart, principal at Lomond School, said: “It’s great to hear from former pupils and the children really love hearing from the likes of Charlotte who has gone on to do amazing things.
“Many of our pupils are keen on pursuing their own athletic career so it’s really inspiring for them to hear first-hand what it takes, giving them a boost to keep working hard during lockdown.”
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