From Nottingham to Tokyo: A Former Student’s Journey to The Olympics

Speaking from a high-altitude training camp in France, Katie tells me that she found out she qualified for the Olympics at the end of June. “I was so pleased with myself,” she said. Despite coming third in the qualifier event, which saw only the top two athletes automatically qualify, her performances throughout 2021 were enough to guarantee her a place on the plane.

“I’m so happy to be in this position, especially after suffering years of injury setbacks,” she notes. She is referring to her plantae rupture, which occurred in 2019, and was something she described as “a really stubborn injury” due to the long recovery process involved. Whilst the Olympics being delayed a year from 2020 may have been a hindrance for some competitors, Katie said that it was “quite fortunate” in allowing her extra time to recover, admitting she probably wouldn’t have been able to compete had the games taken place as planned last year.

“Some of her favourite university memories are of BUCS competitions, which took place across the country”

After joining her local athletics club, Herne Hill Harriers, when she was 12 years old, Snowden says that secondary school is where she found her real passion for running. “Sports days helped massively, and my PE teachers suggested I start looking at competing more seriously,” a key reason for her joining the Harriers, of which she is still a member aged 27. Reflecting on her time in Nottingham and Loughborough, two universities renowned for their sports facilities, she says that some of her favourite university memories are of BUCS competitions, which took place across the country.

Of her stint in Nottingham, Katie has very fond memories: “I met so many great people through my course and halls.” She studied Geography and stayed in Rutland Hall, right next to the David Ross Sports Village, which she said helped immensely. “Most of my friends were made through both the athletics societies and BUCS, especially at weekend competitions across the country,” she recalls. She also fell in love with the city of Nottingham and her natural surroundings, often going on runs in nearby Wollaton Park and along the Nottingham canal.

Snowden originally started competing in shorter distances, such as the 800m. “As I got older, and competed in more endurance training, I realised that actually the 1500m was perfect for me and perfectly suited all of my strengths.”

“[Katie’s] rehabilitation at the gym and in the swimming pool was hindered by the first lockdown”

Despite allowing her to recover in time for the Olympics, the pandemic has also had an adverse impact on Katie, as well as athletes across the world. Her rehabilitation at the gym and in the swimming pool was hindered by the first lockdown, and she was still unable to go running during the ’60 minutes of exercise’ allowed back in March 2020. Used to fighting through setbacks, Katie bought an exercise bike for her garden, which she used practically non-stop throughout lockdown. She also made her own weights to help keep up her fitness. The Tokyo Games will be like no other, especially with zero fans in attendance. Katie knows the impact that spectators have on athletes. She was there on Super Saturday in 2012, one of the best days in British sporting history, with Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford all winning gold at the Olympic Stadium. “The atmosphere was phenomenal, and that moment will always stick with me,” she says, agreeing that it will be tough with no friends and family to cheer her on. But “all the athletes are in the same boat,” she adds.

“Her playlist is also varied, featuring a lot of Kanye West and Eminem”

Away from the track, Katie prefers to chill with family and have a quiet movie night. When she was injured, she watched a documentary about Andy Murray and found it motivating to see him persevere through injury, in a similar position to herself. Her playlist is also varied, featuring a lot of Kanye West and Eminem, as well as some unorthodox motivational choices in Taylor Swift and Sia: “don’t judge me, but they have some great motivational tunes!”

Whilst competing in the Olympics is Katie’s greatest achievement so far, she knows that she needs to look forward to the future too and plan for a life postathletics. “We have many championships coming up, as well as the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, and I definitely want to focus on athletics for the next few years.” Beyond that, though, she would love to finally make use of her geography degree and potentially go into teaching. “I mean, I guess I get to travel the world a lot, so my geography degree comes in handy for that”, she laughs.

Watching Katie representing not just England and Team GB but the University of Nottingham in the biggest sporting competition in the world, I am hopeful she can inspire other young student athletes to think big, too.

By Josh Collins Illustration and Page Design by Chiara Crompton

In the time since this interview was conducted, Katie has taken to the track in Tokyo in her first ever Olympics. She performed incredibly, running her two best track times yet, one of which was the fastest 1500m semi-final in women’s Olympic history. Whilst she missed out on the final this time, this University of Nottingham alumni is likely to have more Olympic success in her future, and we’re very excited to see how far she goes.