Broome plans to handle the nerves to bring home a medal (VIDEO)

Loughborough University student Olivia Broome has a plan in place as she goes for glory in the women’s powerlifting 50kg category at the Paralympic Games.

The 19-year-old has been working on managing her pre-lift butterflies as she takes to the world stage in Tokyo.

Broome is in fine form after some eye-catching performances this year including setting a new British record in Manchester and achieving both a new British Record and Junior World Record as she clinched Junior Gold and Senior Silver medals at The World Para Powerlifting World Cup in Georgia.

Speaking to Loughborough Sport, Broome explained how she’s worked on controlling the trepidation prior to making a lift:

“This is the world stage…this is the biggest event of your career, so you’ve always got those little nerves here and there. I tend to freeze up in competition and I did that in Manchester.

“It kind of got to my head a bit and I got way too nervous. We’ve [Olivia’s support team] been quite good working on that, setting up routines pre-performance, and I tell myself ‘this is just like training’.

“I try and treat training as if it were a competition and treat every lift as if this is what I’m doing on the platform.”

The Paralympic Games in Tokyo will be Broome’s debut in the competition, and she hopes to not only achieve, but to inspire others:

“It’s my first Games and it’s always been a childhood dream of mine. To finally achieve that is really exciting.

“For me, the ultimate dream come true would be to win a medal at these Games. People are going to be watching this and, you know, I could be somebody’s role model.

“You want to put in a great performance to show them this is what you can achieve.”

Olivia’s event at the Paralympic Games will take place on August 27th (tomorrow) at 05:00am BST.

If you’re feeling inspired by the Paralympic Games, you can help support the future of Para sport on campus. By donating to the Para Sport programme, individuals can make a profound impact to a young person’s life. To find out how you can help, visit HERE.

For more information on Loughborough and its presence at the Paralympic Games, visit the dedicated website HERE.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 21/176

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2021 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in the Guardian University League Table 2021, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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