Reports of her demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Hannah Miley, a medal-laden swimmer who has accumulated accolades at World, European and Commonwealth level, is treating the first major injury of her prolific career not as a roadblock, but as a new pathway.
Ankle surgery to remove an additional ligament has prompted a change of tack for the Inverurie athlete, who has won over 40 medals in the pool. Working with her father and coach Patrick, who is the high performance swim coach at the University of Aberdeen, she has renewed energy for the challenges ahead.
She said: “I think the fact I’ve gone this far in my career without having anything as major as this (injury), is pretty impressive. This is a different part of my training. When I had my foot in a boot and a cast, I thought ‘I’ve got three other working limbs, I’ll just try something different’. I’ve no idea if it’s going to work or not, but it’s better than sitting still with my foot up.
“Every time I say rehab, people think it’s something else! It’s allowed me to change my training and I’m a lot stronger in the gym now. It’s allowed me to look at my sport with fresh eyes and onwards for Tokyo.
“One of our unique points is we’ve adapted our training. We adapted it in the training centre we had; it wasn’t the best facility and sometimes we couldn’t train, because the water was too hot, too cold or the pool was shut. We found ways around it. Now we have a facility like the Sports Village but we still want to bring in the same fight and fire we had in the other facility. It’s a luxury being here but we don’t want to lose that fire and grit, as it’s part of who I am.”
Even though she has been at the pinnacle of her sport, Miley retains a grounding of her teenage years growing up on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Inverurie’s 25m pool was hers and Patrick’s training ground, a second home where the foundations of her career were built.
It has taken her to gold medals in the three major Championships, with only an Olympic medal missing from her collection. But, now free from injury, that could be ticked off the bucket list.
Patrick said: “For two years. Hannah’s been preforming at Commonwealth Games and other international meets in significant pain. Now that’s removed and we get through the full recovery, I know if she goes back to what she was doing before she’ll be better than she’s been for a few seasons.
“It’s allowed us to focus on a couple of specific events and I think the story will be quite surprising over the next couple of years. Rather than seeing it as a disaster, we’re enjoying the different perspective and outlook.”
The father and daughter duo were at Aberdeen Sports Village last week to give an insight into their respective careers, with Patrick, a former helicopter pilot, keen to maximise the facilities on offer in Aberdeen, particularly with the European Junior Swimming and Diving Championships coming to the venue in 2020.
As well as being grateful for the expertise imparted to her, Miley feels lucky to have had her family close by for some of her greatest achievements.
She said: “I’ve not known (the athlete-coach relationship) any other way. It feels normal. It’s allowed me to develop and grow. Every relationship will have it’s ups and downs and it’s allowed us to reflect, come back together and move forward together. It’s been an incredible journey for me as an athlete but as a daughter as well.
“Few people get to take their family on such a journey. It works for me and there are a few more adventures to go.”
Surgery in September followed being dropped from British Swimming’s world class performance programme for next season, meaning a cut in her funding. But through adversity, Miley continues to see a way forward.
Patrick said: “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. As Hannah’s developed and become more keenly aware of her profession, there’s been less requirement to poke the dog, if you like. As we’ve developed as father and daughter, as well as athlete and coach, we’ve had to manage those changes.
Miley added: “It kind of all comes together – it’s a challenge, but I like challenges. Moving forward is the key message I’ve always wanted to say.”
