Dubai: World and Olympic champion Felix Sanchez’s coach Renee Felton has tipped a few of the UAE athletes to come through at the top international level after watching them train in Italy.
Felton was a special visitor at the Centre of Olympic Preparation (COP) in Formia where half of the UAE School Olympics squad is in training.
Earlier this month, the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) sent its first batch of 82 athletes for an extensive training camp at the COPs in Formia and Rome under a special agreement with the Italian National Olympic Committee.
The athletes were chosen from four individual sporting disciplines namely archery, shooting, fencing and athletics. The camp will conclude on August 24.
During her visit, Felton urged the young UAE athletes to stick to their ambitions of competing at the highest level by setting up goals for each year.
“If you seek excellence, then you have to continue training. There are no short-cuts,” she told the UAE athletes during a brief interaction with them after training.
Felton, a former two-time gold medalist hurdler is the coach of Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez who went on to clinch gold at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 36.
“This track where you train daily is the same venue where current champions have been born and trained. You are no different from these great athletes. What you need is a set of sports principles to guide you so that you can overcome all future challenges and make your dreams come true,” she exhorted.
“Winning an Olympic medal requires more effort and continuous training, where athletes should continue preparing over a six to eight-year period. The journey will not be easy and you will need a lot of patience and strength to make steady progress towards the goals you set for yourself,” Fulton said.
“Training is just one part of the plan. You also need to sleep on time and adopt a proper diet. And then of course you need to have the right technical, mental and physical direction from the team,” she added.
