TRAINING IN ISOLATION

Technique, power: Alicia Hoskin on the water. Picture by Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media

A Gisborne member of the New Zealand high-performance women's squad for sprint kayaking will continue her training while she is in isolation.

Alicia Hoskin was training with the aim of competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but since it has been postponed she will continue to train at home in Auckland.

Hoskin is from Gisborne and one of eight women in the high-performance squad. They are based on the North Shore in Auckland.

“I have set up a home gym and have a few cross-training options to keep me fit for the period of time that we need to stay home,” Hoskin said.

“I am taking this as an opportunity to work on things off the water and come back stronger.”

Hoskin is working with her coaches and support staff on a new training programme to complete while in lockdown.

“At this stage I am looking to start a gym block to build a strength base that will be incredibly helpful when I return to training on the water.

“This may include doing four weight sessions a week while also maintaining my fitness by doing around eight fitness sessions on either my spin bike or grinder. I will be training two to three times a day, and Sunday is my rest day.”

Hoskin — along with athletes around the world — has been working towards the Olympic dream for years.

Athletes are feeling a lot of different emotions, she says.

“The New Zealand team support the postponement of the Olympic Games because at this stage the health and wellbeing of our people and our loved ones is our top priority,” Hoskin said.

She started kayaking when she was 11 years old. This is her third year training with the high-performance squad. She moved to Auckland and was chosen for the squad when she was 18.

She was aiming to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games but this year had the opportunity to trial for the Tokyo 2020 team and was selected for the trialling squad of five women (with four New Zealand spots) for the Olympic Games.

“Our selection announcement for the Olympic Games would have been in a couple of months,” Hoskin said.

“However, due to the postponement of the Olympics we will now continue to train until the new selection date in 2021.”

For a long time, key sporting events like the Olympic Games have been uncertain.

“Now that we have some clarity around how this year will look for us in terms of training and competitions, we can create a new plan of attack with the end goal remaining the same — to represent New Zealand to the best of our ability at the 2021 Olympic Games and make our nation proud.”