Change of target for Tarbit

Freya Tarbit has gone from not knowing if she could even get to this week’s World Championships to being in the medal mix in a matter of months.

At the start of the summer, her dream of making her first World Championship appearance felt a million miles off as she underwent surgery after suffering a serious hamstring injury that threatened to derail her season before it had even begun.

It left the 24-year-old former long jumper with serious doubts as to what she could achieve in the winter and led her to write in her diary that simply making the team for global showpiece in the United States would be success this season.

But after a glorious gold medal in the second World Cup competition of the year in PyeongChang and a brilliant bronze the following week in Beijing, Tarbit heads to the start line in Lake Placid knowing simply being there is no longer the aim.

“About a week after I had surgery in the summer, I wrote down that my goal for the season was to make the World Championship team. That was my major goal for the year - just to get here and compete for Great Britain,” said Tarbit.

A couple of weeks into my rehab, I remember thinking, ‘this is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be’. There were quite a few points where I didn’t think I’d be able to make it.

“I was looking back through my notebook the other day and I’d written down that a stretch target was just to be able to complete a full pre-season. There were points where I doubted whether I could do it, but I wanted it so badly.

“I feel really proud that I achieved that goal - not just through my efforts but through the efforts of everyone who supported me during the summer and throughout the winter season. We’ve achieved a lot in a short period of time.

“Going into the opening races in Asia, the aim was just to get back into sliding again. I didn’t have a competitive focus but I came away with two medals and that gave me a lot of confidence.

“I feel like I’m not just here and grateful for a spot now: I know I’ve got the ability to compete and do really well.

“Yes, I’m here and I’ve achieved that aim, but the goal’s changed and it doesn’t end there.”

That new goal of competing for the podium sums up the state of play for the British team as a whole, too.

Tarbit is one of five GB sliders inside the top eight in the world rankings, with Laurence Bostock the only one of the six-strong squad competing in Placid lower down the rankings because he has spent the majority of the season away from the World Cup circuit.

Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt arrived in America as the No1 and 2 ranked male athletes in the world, while Amelia Coltman, Tabby Stoecker and Tarbit are No4, 7 and 8 respectively.

“The GB programme is in such a good place,” added Tarbit, who only made her World Cup bow in 2023 and had raced just nine times on the top tier prior to this season.

We’ve had an absolutely incredible season and we’ve shown we are up there with the best countries in the world. We’ve all had success and we’ve all finished really high in the world rankings. We’ve definitely got it in us to come here and do really, really well.

“This season has been such a team effort. We’ve had success as individuals but none of us would have achieved that without the team support.

“There isn’t just the one person you see stood up there on the podium when we win a medal - there’s a whole team making that happen. There’s the S&C coaches; physio; sliding coaches; support staff; friends and family - it’s everyone supporting each other. Our success this season has been down to that.

“I know I’ve really felt that support. I couldn’t have had that success on my own so soon after being so badly injured. That was a proper team effort and I’ll be forever appreciate of everyone putting in their best for me. “