Olivia Breen heads to America and the land of Donald Trump ahead of winter training
Sunday 19 February 2017 21:08, UK
Hitting the beaches in Miami, being famous in Times Square and visiting Donald Trump's HQ in New York is the perfect combination for getting pumped up for a new season.
What did Olivia Breen get up to in the United States?
The Sky Academy Sports Scholar reveals all as she gets set for winter training with some wonderful memories from America.
Happy New Year! I had a great Christmas at home with my family and seeing friends. On Christmas morning, I went to Champneys in Liphook with my brothers for our traditional Christmas morning training session.
We were joined by Sky Sports News reporter Aidan Magee which was great fun and it turns out that we are related to each other, which was a lovely Christmas surprise!
After Christmas, I left for America with my boyfriend TJ and we had an amazing time. We went to Washington and visited TJ's mum and sister before we had a week's holiday at South Beach in Miami which was fantastic.
I didn't have a very long break after the Rio Olympics and so it was great to switch off. I didn't stop training in the States though and did as much as I could.
I found a great gym called Equinox in South Beach which was amazing. It makes such a difference training in the warm weather and I really feel the benefit of getting away from the cold.
And to end the trip, we headed to New York which was amazing. I loved the shopping and being in Times Square which was so cool. We even managed to get our faces on the 'Wall of Fame'! It was like being famous but in New York.
It was also interesting being in America at a time of such great political change. Everyone had a view on Donald Trump from the taxi drivers to the shop assistants! We had our picture taken outside Trump Tower and the security was so intense.
It was very, very different to when I was last there eight years ago.
And so I am now back and really excited about training again! A break has really done me good. It's straight back to Loughborough to knuckle down to some serious winter training again.
I am looking forward to really getting down to it again but I will miss America - it was amazing!
WHAT'S COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS....
FEB 3-5: Elise Christie, World Cup short track speed skating in Dresden, Germany
FEB 10-12: Elise Christie, World Cup short track speed skating in Minsk, Belarus
MARCH 4: Sam Oldham, American Cup in New Jersey, USA
MARCH 10-12: Elise Christie, World Championships in Rotterdam
