Whilst most 16 year olds may be thinking about what pubs/clubs they can sneak into,
Rebecca McGowan was making a life changing decision. From her much loved
home in Dumbarton, Scotland, she travelled the 500 + miles south to England in order
to continue a career in Taekwondo, one started when she was about 4/5.
With the essential support from her family, the transition to her new base has reaped
rewards.
Having travelled to Tokyo ( 2020 ) as a reserve, Paris will be Rebecca’s first Olympics
as a competitor in her own right.
She is completely focused on succeeding and overcoming any obstacles that may
appear in a path. A couple of broken ribs at the World Championships merely made
her more determined to attain success in the long run. Like another member of the
taekwondo set up, Caden Cunningham, she also tore her anterior-cruciate ligament
which led to a long period of recovery, but has displayed the mental resilience
required to keep moving forward.
That determination and focus to win that she displays, is typical of all the other
taekwondo athletes in the competition and goes a long way to explaining the ethos in
the organization and why it has done so well at accumulating medals in various
championships including past Olympics.
Working with her coaches, Rebecca has designed a program specifically tailored to
aims for the Paris Games. This task has included recruiting fighters who can mimic
the style of her opponents, bringing them to the UK Taekwondo centre in Manchester
for regular bouts.
Her aim is to find those tiny micro improvements that can ultimately lead people onto
success.
Rebecca’s view is that she has seven (virtual) arrows in her locker, meaning that she
has seven goals to focus on and she has to make every one count.
Not dwelling on what she can’t do, her objectives are clearly defined beforehand.
To this extent, planning ahead has involved combining a part time degree at Salford
University from 2 to 7:30pm a few days a week, allowing her to concentrate on her
training methods earlier in the day.
A musical career is unlikely to follow although as she is a bit rusty on the trombone,
but talk of a taekwondo orchestra, which could involve fellow taekwondo competitors
Caden Cunningham and Bradly Sinden may be a way of celebrating hard fought
efforts and hopefully their medal haul this summer.
Ged Camera
@cadenluiscunningham
@bradlysinden
@rebeccamcgowantkd
@britishtaekwondo
@beth_munro23