WHEN a spectator of sport watches an athlete at the highest level, rarely will they stop and ponder the gruelling journey that led to that point.
Instead, the words ‘gifted’ and ‘fortunate’ are thrown around far too often, with stark disregard to the hundreds of hours of suffering endured to reap those riches.
One Islander who knows all too well of the sacrifices to reach the upper echelons of sport, is Super League triathlete Ollie Turner.
Following the completion of his Sports and Exercise Science degree in Cardiff, the expectation for the 2021 season was high.
The reality was entirely the opposite, which set in motion the ‘hardest period’ of Turner’s fledging career as he fought towards success in 2022.
Needless to say, he overcame and excelled, but, like every great success story, there was far more than met the eye.
‘Training felt great entering 2021,’ said Turner.
‘I was doing all the right things and really felt like I was prepared to compete.
‘The year just didn’t pan out the way I had hoped and honestly expected.
‘The stresses of the final year of university probably had a bigger impact than I anticipated, but the extent by which I underperformed was frightening.
‘I would always be front of the pack for the swim and bike and then head backwards every race during the run.
‘It was soul destroying. I couldn’t work out why there wasn’t improvement.’
Turner then entered the toughest winter of his life in desperation mode to locate the missing piece of his triathlon puzzle.
‘I sat down with my performance coach Luke Watson at the end of 2021.
‘It was a very emotional chat. I didn’t want to be wasting his time, nor mine, if we weren’t getting anything out of this process.
‘We decided to go down the route of testing everything vigorously, looking for answers.
‘It turned out that my physiology hadn’t really progressed over the last three years.
‘I was essentially a diesel engine. Hyper efficient, with no poke.’
Thus began, a period of time in Turner’s life that most would find hard to comprehend.
Swim and bike training was shelved, in the name of seeking excellence during the run.
Ruthless sessions began, that left the Islander vomiting on several occasions and his body at breaking point.
Fast-forward four months and there was no tangible improvement evident.
Turner said: ‘I think seeing no visible progress was the toughest thing for me.
‘You don’t mind putting yourself through hell and back if you can see some improvement and a silver lining.
‘But there was none of that. Four months in and no clear signs our training was working.
‘It certainly changes your mindset towards what you believe you’re capable of however.
‘Each session you realise that you are capable of so much more than your mind restricts you to.’
Then came ‘the moment’ for the athlete, at a seemingly rudimentary session with the British Triathlon team, where Turner and Co completed ten sets of 1km runs.
He said: ‘It was an amazing moment really.
‘Four months of agony, all worth it to see me hold my own with the rest of the squad on the run.
‘My coach was elated and it was what I needed to convince myself that this training regime was paying off.
‘The season didn’t get off to the best start result-wise, but I knew I was trending in the right direction.
‘The game plans were being executed and I knew that the results would start to follow.
‘I would leave races in a completely different mindset to the previous season.
‘I wasn’t as race-fit as I needed to be after time away from the bike and swim to focus on the run.
‘After that, everything began to click.
‘Both physically and psychologically I was in a great place and it began to reflect in the results.’
The 2022 breakthrough came as part of Bundesliga Triathlon team HYLO Team-Sarr when they won the first race of the season in Kraichgau.
From there, Turner went from strength to strength, with a keen eye on the Commonwealth Games ahead in Birmingham, desperate to improve on his 26th-placed finish in the Gold Coast four years prior.
He said: ‘It was an unbelievable day. Massively emotional to be honest with all my family and girlfriend watching on.
‘Everything went right. It was probably my most polished performance to date.
‘Improving by 11 spots from the Gold Coast was amazing, especially after the 2021 season I had.
‘But for me, my memories will firmly be of the people I had around me.
‘The tougher times during sport, really help refocus your mind and realise what is important.
‘They have been a constant for me and when you change that perspective of competing meaning everything, it frees you up to go out and not get in your own way.’
There was still one remaining goal for Turner to hit, to put the icing on the cake of a stellar campaign.
He craved a podium finish at a British Series race, with a new eliminator series to boot.
Four races over seven hours culminated in a third-place finish for Turner.
Just the reassurance he needed ahead of an eagerly anticipated 2023.
