Meet Lara

My Story

Growing up in South East Asia, I was thrown into every sport my school could think of. Some of my earliest memories consist of running around fields in Thailand and playing football with my friends. Moving round countries every few years as a child was tough, but sport was my one constant. It allowed me to make friends, manage my emotions and competitiveness in a healthy way and, ultimately, it helped me grow into the person I am today. 

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At university I continued playing team sports and captained my football and touch rugby teams during my undergraduate. However, when I got injured I realised just how much I had depended on sports throughout those year and suddenly not being able to do them I felt a bit lost. I think this is what made me realise how important sports is for mental health and was one of the elements that pushed me towards pursuing sports psychology. 

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The one sport that I have consistently done is a stark contrast to all those above: equestrian, specifically showjumping. Spending hours at the yard around horses and developing my skills as a child taught me respect and responsibility. When I started to compete, I was surprised how anxious I would get before events. Hours and hours spent training were down to 2 minutes in the showjumping ring. At first, it went terribly but slowly I learnt how to cope with the pressure and learnt about all the psychological aspects surrounding sports. 

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Nowadays, I no longer compete in showjumping but I do ride professionally. Alongside this, I decided to pursue triathlon as my next challenge not just because of the physical endurance needed but also because of the mental health benefits and its ability to develop mental toughness and resilience.