Tetradecathlon World Champion!

2021 in Epinal, France

Tetradecathlon

Last weekend the 8th-9th of July 2023, I travelled to Turnhout in Belgium to compete in the W50 category of the Tetradecathlon World Championships. It is a somewhat minority sport, probably on account of it being so hard, that not many people want to, or even are able to do it! It was invented in 1981 by the Finns, and there are 14 track and field events for women, the Tetradecathlon, and 20 events for men, the Icosathlon. Usually, it is held over 2 days, but one-day versions also exist for really crazy people!

The indoor event is a Tetradecathlon for both men and women and includes pole vault, long, high, and triple jump, sprints, middle distance, hurdles, shot, weight throw, 3k, and 5k amongst other things! In 2019 (to the best of my knowledge) I was the first Irish woman in history to complete the event in the W45 category, coming away with a Gold medal and the new National points Record. This was in the beautiful Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki, Finland. In 2021, I also won gold in Epinal, France after an incredibly tough, close, and hard-fought contest with a Belgian opponent, taking the deciding battle to the very last event where she pushed me to run a 3000m PB of 14:30, taking a full 2 minutes off my previous best time! On that occasion, it was necessary to produce 5 personal best performances to win overall. In the Indoor event in Miramas in 2022, I battled through a torn abdominal muscle and (unknown to me) the start of Covid to win my first Indoor World title.

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OTB in Brussels

On my way to the event, I stopped to play some OTB in a chess bar with a friend. This was my first time playing OTB outside and it was nice, it doesn’t really happen where I live.

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Lichess June Game of the Month nomination!

The night before the first day of the event, I was pinged by @jeffforever and saw to my amazement that one of my games had been shortlisted for the Lichess June Game of the Month!

https://lichess.org/MobxOmZA/white#46

This was far too exciting and not at all what I needed to get a relaxing early night before the competition! Of course, I had to tell all my friends about it and chat until the wee small hours. Given that I only started to play chess in November 2021, and in January last year my Lichess classical rating was only 1224, I am very proud of this achievement!

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Outdoor Tetradecathlon - Women's Events

Day one

100m hurdles
High jump
1500m
400m hurdles
Shot put
200m

Day two

100m
Long jump
400m
Javelin
800m
200m hurdles
Discus
3000m

The event is divided into U23, Senior (under 35), and the various Master Athlete (Veteran) age groups from 35 upwards in 5-year age groups. It is so inspiring to compete alongside these fabulous athletes ranging in age from teenagers to masters in their 70s and upwards!

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Day One

I got up and made some eggs for breakfast, and the chauffeur arrived early to take me to the stadium. We were being looked after very well by our Belgian hosts, with a personal shuttle bus for the athletes, free trackside sports physio, and food in the evenings after the day's events.

I met a wonderful young lady from Finland in the W70-74 age category, who had competed in the same Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki in 1966 at the tender age of 15 where I won my first World Championship (W45) in 2019! And she still had it in her to hurdle, run and throw with the best of us! Just so incredible and awe-inspiring! A bundle of crazy Finnish energy, I want to be like her when I am her age!

Me and Marja at the long jump

We had 34-degree (93 F) sweltering, humid heat, and thunderstorms both days, and were on the go from early morning until late evening with few breaks. We sought shade and water and small bites of food when we could, and just kept going through the pain and exhaustion.

The wonderful thing about multi-eventers is that they have so much enthusiasm and encouragement for each other, all the time, and want each other to do well, like a big family. There is never any shaming or derision for a bad performance. We are all acutely aware of our weaknesses, everyone is good at different events and we are all humbled at some point.

The first day is *only* six events, but it is pretty brutal nevertheless. 100m hurdles followed by high jump, 1500m, 400m hurdles, shot put, and 200m. We enjoyed the spaghetti Bolognese at the meal afterwards and took the shuttle bus back to our accommodation. Shower, bed, and check to see if GOTM results were in... nothing yet.

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Day Two

The second day is worse than the first if I’m honest. You suddenly realise you have to do eight events, but you can hardly walk. It’s a LOT of running and some more hurdling, jumping, and throwing. First up is the 100m, then long jump, 400m, javelin throw, 800m, 200m hurdles, discus throw, and 3000m.

During the javelin, my teammate (a qualified nurse) and I (a trained first-aider and veterinary surgeon) helped a French athlete who had the beginnings of heat stroke, giving her first aid, sugary drinks, food, electrolytes, ice packs, and cold sponges. We took turns to quickly do our throws and went back to our stricken friend. I was so glad I could speak some basic French as she spoke no English. We asked the officials if there was a doctor, but there didn’t seem to be one so we just got on with helping her to recover. We brought her back from the brink and revived her sufficiently for her to perk up and carry on with the javelin, 800m, 200m hurdles, discus, and 3000m afterwards, (having been cleared as fit to compete). All the athletes agreed to let her throw at the end, to allow for maximum recovery time, despite it harming their own chances of a medal. Honestly, the good sportsmanship I witnessed at this event was second to none, but normal at multi-events.

Even the locals were complaining about the heat, and certainly, the fair-skinned Irish athletes were not used to it at all. We were glad of the thunderstorm and rain that came in the afternoon. It got so dark at 3 pm that they had to turn the floodlights on and halt the event for half an hour during the worst of the lightning storm. We were grateful for the extra rest, and I took the opportunity for some trackside physio to rejuvenate my tired legs.

Floodlights on at 3 pm during the storm

We continued with the 800m, during which I managed to pass the Swede, the Finn, and one of the Germans on the finishing straight, which was very satisfying (I hate the 800m!). The 200m hurdles was fun as always, and safely negotiated, which lead us to the discus throw just outside the stadium in a leafy pleasant park. The discus throw is as good as a break, and we chatted and savoured the memories of the weekend before the last event, the 3000m.

At the start of the 3000m you could sense the air of excitement and achievement, we were on the home straight as it were, and only seven and a half laps separated us from the end - medals, flags, the podium, and glory! The atmosphere was electric, with the Icoasthlon men and the supporters cheering us on at every turn.

With two of my teammates at the opening ceremony

It’s hard to describe the emotionally charged atmosphere of achievement in unity at the end, with so many heroic personal stories and journeys. From elite athletes to agile, incredible pensioners, athletes competing with prosthetic limbs, hip replacements, and brain tumours, I was humbled to be in such inspirational company. Super proud of my teammates too, the Irish contingent came home with 3 new World Champions in the W50, W35, and W55 categories, and a commendable 5th in the M55 Icosathlon.

So what is next on my athletic calendar? Perhaps the 300m hurdles in the European Masters Athletics Championships in Pescara, Italy in September, after the National Championships next weekend and the national Senior League Final in August? Maybe a late-season heptathlon or decathlon in the South of France in October? We’ll see how the recovery and training go, I guess.