Loughborough throwing star Taia Tunstall is hopeful of future success after speaking to Winter Olympic legend Lizzy Yarnold.
Tunstall, 20, took time out of Loughborough’s elite sports programme to join four other rising athletics stars on a special Zoom mentoring session with former Olympian and double-gold skeleton medallist Yarnold.
The in-depth hour-long session was set up by Entain and SportsAid – who financially support Tunstall’s throwing career – with Yarnold’s experience as Britain’s most decorated Winter Olympian forming a golden opportunity for the up-and-coming sportswoman.
All five athletes were given the chance to ask a range of questions covering topics such as mental health, preparation and training and Tunstall was fascinated by the amount of advice Yarnold had to offer.
She said: “It was quite a big thing for me to speak with Lizzy – I’ve trained and competed against Olympians in the past but speaking to someone at her level was amazing.
“It was good seeing her experiences from a different perspective and how things overlap between my sport and hers.”
The Loughborough University student who throws the discus for Harrow was thrilled to listen to the advice of Yarnold, who herself experienced a chest infection during her run at PyeongChang’s Winter Olympics in 2018.
“Lizzy said that you’re only human, and that’s resonated with me quite a lot in the last few months,” Tunstall said.
“My parents have said it to me before, because there are going to be mistakes and you are going to have bad days and you can let it get to you, but hearing it from Lizzy as well was really interesting.”
“The main thing is to stick to what you know and do what you need to do instead of listening to other competitors. It’s all about relying on yourself and on your team around you.”
Fuelled by Entain – owner of Ladbrokes and Coral – and SportsAid’s partnership, Tunstall has been able to access funding for training, travel and equipment – something that has proved vital after the struggles of the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite that, Tunstall has defied the odds and managed to throw a personal best of 51.93m at Loughborough’s UK Winter Long Throws Championship in February this year, as well as finish 11th and 13th in international senior competitions this year.
And she is hopeful for his future in the long-run, thanks to Yarnold’s advice.
Tunstall added: “SportsAid have been essential for me in the past few years – I’m really lucky that they have taken me on board.
“I’m really happy with my season so far, and am proud of finishing 12th at the European Athletics under-20 Championships last year.
“I was particularly happy with that because I had to travel to Estonia on my own without my coach due to covid restrictions.
“It was also my first-time representing GB so to do that was amazing. I’d love to represent England at the Commonwealth Games this year.”
Tunstall was joined on the Zoom mentoring session by fellow aspiring athletes Charlie Dobson, Caitlin Burgess, Will Bell and Bethany Moule, who are also supported by Entain and SportsAid’s innovative partnership.
And Tunstall revelled in absorbing Yarnold’s eminent insight, who soared to skeleton Olympic glory at Sochi and PyeongChang, and Yarnold said: “It was lovely to be in that virtual space together with the young athletes. Listening to all their accolades and when they are in their career so young was brilliant.
“The lessons I learnt in sport and athletics helped me in knowing this mad sport, skeleton, and being a young athlete is really overwhelming – which I learnt when I started skeleton at 18.
“Hopefully it gave them a bit of an idea of the mentality and physicality of it all.
“My main bit of advice was that consistency is key - motivation is awesome, but consistency and turning up will keep you going when motivation is low.”
Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.
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