The Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sport for elite-level athletes. It is a special competition held in the highest level of prestige. The Olympic dream is a phrase all aspiring athletes and sports stars have dreamed of making a reality. Someone who made the dream a reality was Irish hockey captain Katie Mullan.
Early Days
Katie grew up on the North Coast of Northern Ireland and from eight years-old had a hockey stick in her hand. It wasn’t until secondary school and at the age of 15 when Katie first got selected for Ulster at an under-age level which was the beginning of an incredible journey.
Ulster soon led to Irish trials, and it was only a matter of time before Katie was knocking on the senior team’s door.
Debut
Katie’s first experience with the side came, after being called up to train with the squad ahead of the qualifiers for the London 2012 Olympics.
After a failure to qualify this led to fresh opportunities Katie told the Telf Talks podcast, “there was an opportunity for young players and fresh blood to get our first caps.” Her debut came against Wales in 2012 and since then Katie has gone on to have won over 200 caps.
However, the biggest learning came when she missed out on the Ireland panel for the Europeans in 2013, “ever since then I have never once taken selection day for granted.”
Captaincy
This drive and determination turned Mullan from a young player into the eventual captain. Showing all young players sport is all about learning. After an ACL injury to former captain in 2017 Mullan got the opportunity in a tournament out in Malaysia for World Cup qualifying.
Mullan told the Telf Talks podcast that she was determined to grab the opportunity with both hands, regardless of who was going to be chosen as captain. She said, “we had to win this quarter-final if we were going to the World Cup.
“The coach then said if we keep winning you keep wearing the armband.” A brilliant piece of player
management that brought Mullan into her own as an inspirational leader.
World Cup 2018
After successful qualification to the World Cup, Ireland went into the tournament ranked 15th and heavy underdogs. Mullan however spoke on Telf Talks about using this as a motivational driver.
“We deserved to be higher ranked than we were sitting.
“The biggest thing as a leader was not being affected by the occasion.”
The team ended up getting to the World Cup final losing to the Netherlands. Showing rather than fearing the occasion they embraced it. Mullan spoke about how the team’s close bond was the reason for all this falling into place. As a captain, Mullan put a focus on making the team “as relaxed as possible.”
Tokyo Olympics 2020
The dream had always been the Olympics for this Irish women’s side. They successfully qualified taking forward the momentum from the World Cup and the dream became a reality.
Katie spoke about one moment involving Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on the podcast as the moment of realisation of how far they had come as a team.
“She had literally just won an Olympic gold medal and was just happy.
“Asking us what we did and how we were getting on.”
It was at that moment Mullan said in the village when you realise all the athletes are so similar. In terms of dedication to their sport.
“There are so many athletes there that make the same sacrifice that don’t get the positive outcome of a medal.” Mullan said.
The Future
Fulfilling the Olympic dream has only sparked Katie to drive for more success as the Irish team have just qualified for the World Cup in 2022.
Further in their sights will be the 2024 Olympics, with an eye on continuing this great story.
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