Medalling with Ukraine - the Meath way

Meath woman Lyndsey Conway is a remarkable person with tremendous reserves of character and determination - and a pocketful of gold medals.

That's a fair and accurate statement that can be backed up by her gold medal-winning exploits for Ukraine at the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships which took place in Dublin in October.

There was a touch of the 'Cool Runnings' about her success as the Ukraine team was one of the smallest to compete at the 2017 World Championships.

The Meath woman was one of five competitors, and the only female, with Ukraine and she only satisfied the selection process less than a month before the event.

It was a different matter some four years ago (October 2013) when she achieved what was then a remarkable feat as the first Irish woman to win two gold medals for Poland at the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships in Spain.

She lived and worked in Poland for about eight years, until last August, with the highlight being that double gold success in 2013.

She was denied a third gold after she sustained a second knee injury at the 2013 championships, her other knee had been repaired in 2011.

KNEE RECONSTRUCTED

“I had my knee reconstructed after winning the two medals with Poland, I did all my rehab at home in Ratoath with Edel Daly and Rory O’Neill, they were super,” she said.

“I returned to Poland in 2014, but I didn't get a chance to defend my title, instead they put me into a higher weight category which was a disadvantage.

“I wasn't competing in the 68kg, my correct weight, but I still won a bronze in the 75kg and that was a reasonable achievement.

“The 2015 Polish Championships were in October of that year and I also had a chance to compete in the power section (breaking blocks), but I sustained another injury, I broke my arm and that ruled me out of the European Championships in 2016.

“The road to recovery again, but I was able to train to a certain extent although the coaches are never too interested if you are not winning gold or silver, all I was managing was bronze in between the injuries.

“My arm recovered and I returned to training, but I broke it again in January 2016 and that ruled me out for about another three months, all very frustrating.

“I took the opportunity for a full check on my knees and I needed another piece of what was described as minor surgery.

“I missed out on an annual working holiday in the USA and then it took some time to get back to competing at an elite level.

“Eventually, work and training resumed with a winter camp with the Polish national team.

“The focus was very much on the 2017 World Championships that were taking place in Dublin.

“Bronze medals were the rewards once more and that just wasn't good enough to make the Polish team, but I was able to concentrate on exams and tests for black belt grading which turned out to be very important.

“At the beginning of this year I was back to full fitness and in a position to compete for the European Championships in April, but it was bronze medals again and I just didn't make the team.

“The last chance saloon was the European Cup (club) which was in my hometown (in Poland) Lublin.

“It was going well, I was on the way to a gold medal, but I got a cut above my eye with about 50 seconds remaining.

“I finished, but missed out on gold from a winning position, again, it was very disappointing and I missed the cut, no pun intended, again.

SILVER LINING

“But, there was a silver lining, although I didn't realise it at the time.

“I was waiting to go to hospital for treatment and two coaches from Ukraine came over to sort of say 'hard luck' that type of thing.

“It wasn't really great timing as I was feeling like shit at the time.

“They suggested that I should consider competing for Ukraine as they had no one for the 68kg category.

“The blood was running down my face, I just couldn't absorb it (the offer) but my friend told me I should consider it.

“I was in shock from the cut, from not winning gold, missing selection for Poland, the offer from Ukraine, it was all too much to take in.

“The medical people in the hospital, it was an Army hospital, they were very efficient and I got stitched up, but I was out of action again so I came home to Ratoath, for a brief visit,” she added.

That gave her some time to recover from the disappointment and also to have a think about the offer from Ukraine.

“Ukraine had no female for the 68kg category and it was an offer that I couldn't refuse if I wanted to compete in Dublin,” she stated.

“It was complicated as the championships in Dublin were only two months away and I wasn't actually eligible to compete for Ukraine.

“It's all very technical, but the Polish Association had no objections once I satisfied the criteria.

“They hadn't selected me so they had no real grounds to complain.

“The only way I could gain eligibility for Ukraine was to upgrade my black belt from second degree to third degree.

“This is something that usually takes about a year to prepare for and I had about eight weeks.

“Initially, a coach from Poland helped me prepare, but a lot of it was down to myself.

“I had been living and working in Poland for about eight years, but I decided to leave to pursue this opportunity.

“I sent a lot of my stuff back to Ireland, packed a bag and took a bus from Poland to Ukraine, it was about 300 kms from Lublin to the town of Ivano-Frankvisk in western Ukraine.

“It was a six-hour journey, the border crossing into Ukraine was very slow, when I arrived I even got off at the wrong bus stop.

“However, I got there eventually and started the training and the exam process that evening.

“It was stressful and draining, but I got through the process over about a two-hour period and then the adjudicators had to make a decision.

“I made the grade, not with flying colours, but I suppose it was all about the result and I got there, four weeks ahead of the opening day of the World Championships.

“Then there was the budgetary issues, the Ukraine Association had already received its funding and if I was to compete for them it would have to be at my own expense.

“The five-member Ukraine team and two officials duly arrived in Dublin, at the airport I just happened to bump into the surgeon who had repaired my knees and there was the usual good luck wishes.

“We were based about four kilometres from CityWest for the championships, but we had to organise our own transport to and from the venue.

“The first day we actually had to walk to CityWest, but we got that sorted.

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

“My first fight was against Slovakia and I won, I was expected to win and I did, New Zealand were next up, another win.

“The fights are two-minute rounds up to a maximum of three rounds, after the first two fights it was England and I won quite comfortably (4-0).

“That got me to the semi-final where I met a fighter from Poland, I knew her very well, she probably would have won gold if I hadn't been there.

“All my Polish friends were watching this one with great interest, they were cheering Polska, Polska, and that inspired me a bit more.

“My family were there cheering for me, I won 3-1 and that got me to the final against Ireland.

“Ireland had beaten another competitor from Poland, but I was confident that I could win, the semi-final turned out to be the toughest fight, I won the final and I won well.

“Ukraine also won a gold and silver in the men's category so three medals from five competitors was a very good return.

“Since the world championships I have a new equipment sponsor so that's a positive start, but it was sourced in a bizarre introduction at the championships.

“I was chatting with a representative from Mightyfist Europe, a French company, and my gear bag (it was a white bin bag) just split and all my gear fell out, she got me a proper bag immediately and since then they have come on board as my kit sponsor, they provide me with top quality dynamic equipment for competition.

“Now that I am a three-time World Champion gold medal winner I would like to stay in the sport, but for that I need financial support and if I could access some funding it would be wonderful,” she concluded.

Although she was born in Ratoath, the family emigrated to Canada and then moved to New York and obtained citizenship, two of her sisters are US Marines and a third sister is a nurse while her brother Michael is the founder of Storebox self-storage (storebox.ie) while Lyndsey is a three-time World Champion.

NEXT UP

This weekend Lyndsey will host a seminar in Sligo on Sunday 3rd December for Northwest Taekwon-Do clubs.