My Story Nicole Begg Destined to Skate

NICOLE BEGG
Destined to Skate

It seems I
was destined to
have wheels rolling
under my feet, you
could say skating
is in my genes.

M
y dad started skating
at the age of
17. Throughout his skating
career he never had a
coach so that's what initially
ignited his passion
for coaching. He wanted
to teach people how to
skate and coach them to
be successful without
having to go through the
painful trial and error
process that he went
through. He has gone on
to become a world renowned
coach.
UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT - All the
setbacks are forgotten as W.Begg wins
the senior men's 1000 m event at the
1970 New Zealand championships.
D. Hayes 2nd who is a World Title
holder.
1981 World Champs Cheryl takes the
victory in the 3km over Annie Lambrehts
My mum started skating at
12 and let's just say she
wasn't the most naturally
talented kid on a pair of
skates (sorry, mum). She
went on to win three World
Titles and retired as numberoverall
in the world.
She succeeded through
determination, dedication
and a coach (my dad) who
believed in her. It seems I
was destined to have
wheels rolling under my
feet, you could say skating
is in my genes.

I was the
pack and
I was born in 1987 and two and a half years later I
started rolling along on my first pair of skates. Before I
was 3 years old I had completed a half marathon skating
along holding my mums hand. From a young age I
showed the confidence and tenacity to excel at
sport ... or so my dad says.

I dreamed of following in the footsteps of my mum
and becoming a World Champion speed skater.
When the World Championships were in Perth the
late multiple Junior World Champion Shaun Thompson,
my brother Wayne, and myself were admiring
the podium Shaun’s father Greg had built. The boys
were clambering over it and I went and shoved them
off the top spot, threw my arms in the air and declared
myself Nicole Begg champion of the World at 8
years of age. A hint into what the future held.
My first big success, apart from National Titles, came
in 2000 at the Oceania Championships when I won
the Junior Girls half marathon. I was 12, the minimum
age allowed, and I was competing against girls as old
as 17. I was the
smallest in the
nick-named “sparrow”
smallest in the pack
and nick-named
"sparrow". I won on
4 x 76 mm wheels.
I went to my first Junior World Championships the following
year in 2001 and it's safe to say I was once
again the smallest one in the pack. In 2002, and 2003
I came close to medalling, but couldn't quite make it
onto the podium. In 2004 at 17 years of age and in
my last year as a junior athlete I finally made it onto
the podium. Not just once, but four times and I was labelled
by the press "Queen of the Bronze". You can
obviously guess what colour all four medals were.
The biggest surprise was medalling in the 300 m tt.

2004 was also the year that I took a risk and moved
to Europe for six months to pursue the World Inline
Cup and a career as an inline speed skater. My
school teachers were opposed to this. I did well in
school and they wanted me to sit tight and prepare for
university, but I wanted to pursue my childhood
dream, and in time that risk paid off.
In 2006 at just 19 years old I won my first World Title
in Korea. I was skating at my first Senior World
Championships and I took home a complete set —
gold, silver and bronze. It was a fairytale championships.
The next year in Colombia, I won another
World Title along with two bronzes.

To put my results from 2006, and 2007 into perspective
out of the 60 individual (non-relay) medals up for
grabs at the World Championships in the Senior
Womens division: Colombia won 29, Korea 11, New
Zealand (me alone) 6, Argentina 4, Italy and USA 3.
Video of the 1000 m final at the 2006 World
Championships. This was on the same evening
as the 10km points elimination race. Just 1 1/2
hours earlier I won my first World Title.
#deadlegs #overwhelmingevening

Unbeknown to me the
dream run I was having
was about to encounter
a few bumps.
In 2008 I had a bad accident
in a World Inline Cup
marathon and ended up
breaking my jaw. Four
weeks with my mouth
wired closed was a bit of
a setback, but I pushed
on and kept racing.
Choosing to race, even
though it was painful and
tough to breath it meant I
was able to finish 2 nd
overall in the World Inline
Cup. I also picked up a
couple of silver medals at
that years World Championships
in Spain.
The following year in
2009 I entered the season
feeling really strong. I
was in the final few laps
of a points race that I was
leading and had yet another
bad accident. This
time I tore the ligaments
in my ankle. On top of
that I developed a blood
clot and suddenly a bad
injury turned into a really,
really bad situation. I
spent three months on
medication to control the
clot and that meant it was
too dangerous to race.

I competed at the
World Games after
getting the all clear
from the doctors. I
was a bit rusty with
my last race being 3
months earlier, but I
came away with two
bronze medals.
At the World Championships
I picked up
another three bronze
medals.
#racingsolo #queenofthebronzeagain

2011 rolled around and I was fired up and ready to go.
I woke up on the second day of competition at the
World Championships and my ribs were oddly sticking
out the side of my body. I went to the track and
warmed up and I struggled to breathe. Of course I attempted
to race, but I was really struggling to hang
onto the pace when I should have been setting the
pace. The previous day I was perfectly fine and it felt
like all of a sudden my body wasn't capable of doing
everything I had trained it for.
Doctors were puzzled, tests were inconclusive,
scans showed nothing. I felt like a living puzzle.
I waited one year and three months for a diagnosis. I
had caught a virus which damaged my phrenic nerve.
The phrenic nerve originates in the neck and passes
down between the lung and heart to reach the diaphragm.
It is important for breathing, as it passes motor
information to the diaphragm and receives sensory
information from it.
Having the breathing issue during the 2011 World
Championships, and missing them in 2012 I was really
keen to get back in time for the 2013 champs. I only
had about 6 months of training under my belt, and I
wasn't fully fit, but I took some risks in the races and
one nearly paid off. I've always been a bit of a risk
taker when it comes to racing. I believe if you aren't
brave enough to risk failure then you will never succeed.
I like this quote from Michael Jordan.

I've missed more than 9000 shots
in my career. I've lost almost 300
games. 26 times, I've been trusted to
take the game winning shot and
missed. I've failed over, and over, and
over again in my life. And that is why I
succeed - Michael Jordan
I missed the World Championships in 2014 by choice.
I felt I wasn't quite ready to come back and I wanted to
contest the medals, not just be part of the race. I
trained extremely hard at the end of 2014 and early
2015. I was really motivated and determined to come
back stronger, fitter, and faster.
Thursday the 30th of April
2015 was the defining factor
in changing that. I was in Korea
for a track and road competition.
On the last day of
racing, and in my last event I
went splat! I split my chin
open, knocked out a few
teeth, chipped a few more,
and broke my jaw once again.
This time it wasn't as simple
as a few wires. I required two
operations and now have
plates in my jaw for life.
Fractures

I will probably not compete
at the World
Championships again.
My focus is still with
skating, but now moving
in a different direction.
I'm grateful that I made
the most of the opportunities
I had and didn’t
waste them. I trained
hard, was focused, and
determined. I had the
pleasure of standing on
top of the podium with
the rainbow jersey on, and hearing my national anthem
played. I turned my dreams into goals, and my
goals into reality.
I turned my dreams
into goals, and my
goals into reality.