Wonder woman

On Friday night, 20th January, Natalya Coyle was crowned the Meath Sports Person of the Year. It was the final accolade to recognise what was a sparkling 2016 for the Tara modern pentathlete which saw her claim World Cup glory and produce the performance of a lifetime to seal seventh spot at the Rio Olympic Games.
It has been an unforgettable journey for Natalya, daughter of Tayto Park entrepreneur Ray and Ros Coyle, one that started years before she first leaped to public attention with a sparkling ninth place finish at the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Natalya has made many sacrifices on her journey to be the very best, but the athlete herself doesn't see it like and regards the road traveled as being well worth the journey.
In the week prior to being crowned Meath sports Person of the Year Natalya continued her journey towards a third Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 with a hard training camp on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura.
'It was lovely to be away for a week in the Canaries, but we racked up 60-70k running, had five tough swim sessions and did plenty of other work. It was great to be in the sun, but a lot of the time I was sleeping because I was trying to recover, it was a hard slog,' said the two-time Olympian.
'The past year has not been easy. I spent the first six months of 2016 trying to get qualified for Rio. I was living out of a bag and spent every two weeks travelling, so you don't get to see anything.
'I used to look at all these sports people travelling away and think that must be great, it is amazing and it is the world's best job because I get to do something I love, but there is a lot of hard work and it is not as glamorous as it might look.
'The hard work never stops. I took three weeks off after Rio, but I'm back into it full tilt  because sport never sleeps, it just keeps getting bigger and better.
'As I've progressed through my career and looking back on everything I've done and had to do to get to where I am I don't look at it as if I have made sacrifices. Everything I have done has always been for the greater, bigger cause and if I could go back I wouldn't change it.
'My mantra has always been to never leave any stone unturned and I think I have developed that attitude from my Dad in terms of you always have to keep working and accept that there will be setbacks, but you need to keep going.
'I have missed out on a lot of different social occasions over the years, but I have great friends and great family and they have all being supporting me on this whole journey.'
Natalya was one of three women to pick up the big prizes at the Meath Chronicle Cusack Hotel Group Meath Sports Person of the Year awards, along with Young Sports Person of the Year Megan Thynne and Outstanding Achievement Award winner Sara Treacy, and she is delighted with the raised profile of women in sport and she believes it will continue to grow.
Just turned 26-years-old Natalya is already looking to life beyond being an Olympic athlete and she has laid solid foundations for her future.
'Luckily I'm through college now, I graduated with a business degree and I have been working part-time in secondary schools with Sky Sports Living For Sport, where we are trying to motivate more kids to get involved in sport,' said the Meath woman.
'Hopefully when I eventually do retire, whenever that might be, I will be more rounded and more prepared because I have gone through a lot of battles.
'It is a daunting prospect to consider that you will have to retire someday from something you love doing and have been working your whole life to be at the top of, but also it is also another adventure.
'I really enjoyed being part of the RTE team for the Paralympics. I have a whole new respect for journalists now because I did more work for that than I did for my Leaving Cert.
'The amount of time and study and learning about different sports that I had to do to be prepared for the RTE coverage of the Paralympics was huge, but I really enjoyed it.
'Mainly I enjoyed it because my swimming coach since I was 16, Dave Malone, asked me to do it and he too is a Paralympian. Paralympic recognition is getting higher and higher, but I wanted to do the best I could to show how fantastic these very serious athlete are.
'It is amazing (coverage women in sport) and in any awards that you see now women are very definitely coming to the fore a lot more, not just as a token award, but more that they have earned it on their own right, that's amazing.
'Women can do amazing things and we can do whatever we want. So hopefully we can continue to inspire more women to take up any sport whether it is walking, running, football, camogie, anything just try everything they can.
'Women's sport continues to grow and it is getting bigger and better all the time. People don't really make a big deal about women's sport on TV any more because it is becoming more regular and that gap is being bridged which is really amazing.
'Of course there is always work to be done, but it will continue to grow. We have the women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland this year and that is going to be absolutely fantastic, so it is up to everyone to keep supporting women in sport. Without the supporters there is no one watching matches or spurring kids on, we have to inspire everyone.'
With the success of 2016 acknowledged Natalya has already turned her attentions to planning for 2017, but she is wary of not repeating the mistakes she made after London 2012 when she tried to maintain a high level of performance without taking a break.
'This year we have World Cup finals to defend in May and then I have World and European Championships that I will be going for as well. I would love to win a World Championship medal in Modern Pentathlon, that is what I will be gearing up towards in August.
'I have taken a longer winter this year. I have focused on running and swimming a lot more because they are my weaker events and I want to start off the year strong in this events.
'After 2012 I tried to keep going at the same pace, but I broke down and suffered injuries, but this time around I have learned. That is why I have taken a longer winter, I have been monitoring everything at the world class Institute of Sport.
'I have learned from my mistakes and longevity wise that is what i am aiming for. I'm wiser and more mature now than I was after London. After London I returned to competitive action in January, but this time I'm not starting back until May, so I'm taking a longer route to ensure longevity and maturity,' concluded the determined Meath Olympian.