Sainsbury's Anniversary Games: Olivia Breen excited to return to scene of Paralympic glory
By Sam Drury
Last Updated: 18/07/14 9:16am
Olivia Breen is confident of putting in a good showing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next week and is excited to return to London for the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games as part of her preparation this weekend.
The 17-year-old athlete has especially fond memories of the capital having competed at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, making the final of both the T38 100 metres and 200 metres and winning a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay.
Although the event won’t be held at the Olympic Stadium, returning to London instantly evokes memories of two summers ago for Breen.
“My best memory of 2012 was when I first walked in to the stadium for the 100m final and the noise when I put my arms up was just amazing – I will never forget that moment,” she recalled.
“Then obviously getting the medal was a big night. There were 200 people from my school there and it was amazing to see them in the crowd, it was a really good night and standing on the podium was a really proud moment.”
Long jump
Now halfway through the next Olympic cycle and it is another Games on British soil that Breen is focusing on. However, this isn’t technically a home Games for Breen, who will compete for Wales, and rather than the sprints, she will compete in the long jump – an event she only took up over the winter.
“I’ve been out in Portugal for the past week with my coach Julie Hollman and I’ve been training really hard so I feel really confident about it now,” said Breen.
“I feel a lot more confident about it now, we’ve been doing a lot of the technical stuff which has gone really well so I’m really confident about it. It’s my first Commonwealth Games and I’m really excited about it.
“My target is to make the top five but obviously I’d love to get a medal; that would be a dream come true. I only started jumping in December though, so it would be quite a big ask to get a medal but I’m confident that I can do really well.
“I just need to keep training really hard when I get back home and keep doing the same things that I’m doing now. Then hopefully I’ll be able to perform well on the day.”
