"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. Not in your environment; not in luck or chance; or the help of others; it is in youself alone"

Hello again! Forgive me, but it has been a rather long time since I last updated my blog. As usual, these last few months have been very full. There have been highs, and some lows, but in general, it has been a very positive and rewarding time.

Since my last blog, I went on from Shanghai to compete in our second Olympic qualifier in Seoul where I achieved my season’s best result. This result meant a lot to me. I knew that my preparation had been challenged due to an injury earlier in the year but I was determined to make the best of it and focus on what I had set out in my mind to achieve. I ended up reaching the last 32 of the competition and knocking out Ikehata (Japan) 15-14 after being 14-12 down. Like I said in my last blog, being out with an injury focuses your mind. I came back motivated, enthused and so happy to be back and performing on the World stage.

Next stop was St. Petersburg for the final World Cup of the season before the European Championships in Sheffield. Did anyone see the recent coverage of the European’s on Sky Sports 4? I don’t have Sky but I was told that it was a good two hour’s worth of coverage which is fantastic news. Unfortunately my performance at the European Championships was below par, I learnt a great deal from the experience, and now I face hard work in the coming months to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

If I had thought that the first three years of the Olympic cycle were tough going, the current Olympic qualifying period is proving to be even tougher with the realisation that everything that you do in training, in competition and whilst resting can ultimately make a difference between qualification or disappointment. The difference between success and failure is very slight. Preparation is paramount and with under a year left until the Olympic Games in London, I am committed to leaving nothing to chance. I want to give this my very best shot and have no regrets.

I am delighted to announce that my preparations have been boosted by the Women’s Foil team selection for the World Class Performance Programme. We have started a new training programme which has been going very well and I am looking forward to competing again going forward.

Thank-you for reading and I will write again soon, I promise!