Continuing his exclusive column for Sevenoaks Sport & Wellbeing , Kemsing’s very own world record holder and Olympic athlete, Tom Bosworth, returns to talk about his preparations ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo this year.
“April was a busy month for me, it was a true breathe of fresh air after so many months dealing with lockdowns, cancelled training camps and races and not much else to do bar training.
Now with my Olympic qualification confirmed, my recent injury behind me focus has turned to racing and heat acclimation ready to deal with the temperatures of Tokyo.
I’ve spent most of April training at Leeds Beckett University, in their Environmental chamber, walking at 12km/hour at 34C and 60% humidity. It’s brutal, but has helped me get fit and make up for the time I’ve missed due to injury. Later in the year, on BBC one you’ll be able to see an in-depth look at my training on an up coming episode of the One Show, that I filmed in April. Along with another TV advert that you’ll have to keep your eye out for during the Olympic Games! It’s been so exciting to be back doing media events.
Along with the off track adventures, I also got the chance to take on a low key 10km race in Leeds at the end of April, taking the win in 40:46, a vast improvement on the 20km Olympic trial a month earlier. It was a huge relief to walk fast, walk technically well, with no red cards from the judges and the feeling of strength and speed back in my legs as the laps ticked by. It was great to race and I was truly thankful to the team in Leeds who made the race possible.
I’ve worked really hard on my rehab from the injury and feel back to my best, I now just need time to get some more mileage done before I’m back to my best. I don’t have much time, however, as I was selected for the GB team for the European race walking Team Championships in Czech Republic on the 16th May. I’m so excited to be back in the GB vest and at the last two editions of this champs, I’ve finished 4th in both 2017 and 2019! I’m not sure I will be at my best by then, so my aim is just to try and finish as high up as possible as this will be the closest thing to the Olympic field I’ll get this season.
So now my aim is to get as fit as possible in time for the European Team Champs and as pain free as possible. More physio support and further training will get me as close to full fitness as possible over the next week or so!
Keep an eye out on my social media channels for live links if you’d like to watch. Feel free to also reach out to me over www.tombosworth.com too! I’d love to hear from you.
I hope you enjoy the new lease of life we’re now getting and have ventured out for some dinner or social events! I’m personally very excited to see my parents for the first time since last July this month. Life is truly coming back and I’m certainly never going to take it for granted again. Take care and have a great May everyone!”
