Nicole Fagan

Age 20
Sport Played Track & Field - Race Walking
Years Played 10 years

Tell us about yourself

I began race walking at age 10 at Ku-ring-gai Little Athletics but began to take it seriously at the end of 2007 when I finished school. I train 6 days a week which includes five walking sessions, two swim sessions, two strength and conditioning sessions, two bike sessions, two core strength sessions as well as stretching. I am studying at Macquarie University doing a double degree in Health and Psychology and coach a squad of junior race walkers.

Proudest Sporting Achievements

My proudest sporting achievements are representing Australia three times. This was once in 2008 at the World Race Walking Cup where I placed 25th and twice in 2010 at the Oceania Cup and MTR Hong Kong Elite Race Walking Event where I placed 1st and 2nd respectively. I also won the Australian U23 Championships and NSW Open Championships in 2010.

What are you hoping to achieve

My ultimate goal is to compete at the Olympics. I would also like to compete at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and another World Race Walking Cup.

How does LineBreak help

I wear LineBreak all the time; at training and at home. They are great for recovery and reducing the risk of injury. They are also great for long flights and to wear to bed. They also help to keep me warm during night sessions in winter.

My Blog

27/08/10
Winter Season
The winter race walking season has just finished as of last weekend, and for me, it has entailed some of my best and worst performances.
Let’s start with the worst first; I competed in two official championship events; the NSW State Long walks and Australian Road Walking Championships, both 20km. And unfortunately I was unable to finish both of these events. Due to my knee injuries, I only competed in the second half of the winter season due my ability to only complete a limited number of walking training seasons and I think this definitely showed in these two races. In both state and nationals I experienced a reoccurrence of minor knee pain and withdrew around the half way mark in both cases. I hate having DNF (did not finish) next to my name in the results, but I would definitely prefer to be over cautious than have to have another 6 weeks without training.
Now on to the more positive news; I was able to break both my personal best times in the 10km and 5km distances. As well as the official championship events, I competed at both the NSW Race Walking and Regal Race Walking Club events every Saturday. I took 2 minutes and 1 second off my 10km best and 20 seconds off my 5km best on my 21st birthday! These huge PB’s I can attribute to the hard work by my physio; Georgie, swimming coach; Brett and my walks coach Bill. Without the support and time given to me by them, I don’t even think I would have been back racing until the end of the year.
And the best news of all; yesterday I received news that due to my 10km PB, I would be one of 50 Australian athletes to compete at the Oceania Championships in Cairns at the end of September. For a race walker who usually trains at 730 am at the earliest, I am definitely glad I woke up for the 530 am swims. With only 26 days until the Championship events start I am ready to start a full block of hard training and hopefully bring back the gold.

Pictures from the 2010 Australian Road walking Championships, Brisbane

9/6/10
Australian Institute of Sport
My results from this past summer season have far exceeded my expectations. Immediately after finishing my university exams in December last year, I left for Canberra to train at the Australian Institute of Sport. I lived in Canberra for a total of 9 weeks and loved every minute of it. The benefits of choosing to train there for such a long period of time definitely outweighed any negatives of missing my usual summer in Sydney. Many of Australia’s leading race walkers live and train at the AIS and it was great to be training with more experienced athletes. The facilities there are great and I was also fortunate enough to undertake some time living in the altitude house.


Left: Climbing 3000ft up to the altitude house. Right: Training at the AIS

Australian Championships
In mid February the Australian 20km Championships were held in Hobart. For me, this event tripled at the Commonwealth Games Trails, Australian U23 Championships and Oceania Cup. My goal for this event was to finish in the top 5 in the Open Australian category in order to be selected in the Australian Team for the World Race Walking Cup. I finished 5th and although I walked a 9 minute personal best time, my time was not what I had hoped for and not good enough to be considered in the World Cup Team. However, I was able to win my first Australian U23 title and also won the individual component of the Oceania Cup which helped contribute to a win by the Australian Team.


Left: The victorious Australian Team. Right: Competing in the Australian Championships

Not long after returning to Sydney, I received a call from Athletics Australia informing me that I had been chosen as the sole Australian female representative to compete in the MTR Hong Kong Elite International Race Walking event in April. I had not even considered being selected in this event so it came as a very pleasant surprise after missing out on the World Cup.

Fall Creek Altitude Training
My lead up to this event was not ideal as I encountered a knee injury. I was informed that I would need a fair bit of treatment on it but chose to postpone this until after the race in Hong Kong. Over Easter, I spent time in Falls Creek, Victoria for altitude training with some other Australian walkers. Training included long walks around the lake, runs on the ski slopes, gym sessions and also recovery in the freezing lake. We also joined in the annual Easter egg hunt which was for ages 4-12 years and not surprisingly collected most of the eggs!


Left: Taking a plunge in the lake. Right: The training group on one of our afternoon hikes

MTR Hong Kong Elite International Race
In April I travelled to Hong Kong with my mum and Brendan the Australian male representative and his parents. The race was a 10km road event held in Hong Kong city. There were thousands of competitors on the day, many dressed in costumes. The best way I can describe it would be to call it the race walking equivalent of the City to Surf. In my race there were competitors from many countries including China, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Hong Kong. I achieved 2nd place in the Elite category after much confusion. I raced with a Chinese girl for about 8km of the race until she pulled ahead nearing the 9km mark. At the end of the 9th lap, she stopped having thought that she had finished. As I came around the corner I was also told to stop but realised there was one lap to go and continued on. After a long time waiting, I agreed to let the Chinese girl have first place, as she was ahead of me before the confusion and hence I was awarded 2nd place. Brendan the Australian boy also achieved 2nd place behind China so it was a fairly successful day for the Aussies. My mum and I stayed a few days after the race for some sightseeing and lots of shopping.


Left: During the race. Middle: The presentation. Right: Brendan and I with our trophies and cheques.


Sight-seeing at the Big Buddha

End of the Season
Since returning from Hong Kong I have undergone some treatment on my right knee. I was able to continue cross training in the form of swimming, cycling and some easy walking although to begin with this did not go according to plan as I began to get patella tendonitis in my left knee due to it catering for the initial injury in the right knee. Yesterday I received a cortisone injection and fingers crossed it hopefully works. This week I am able to do some swimming with my legs tied together which I am pretty excited about. I am definitely looking forward to getting back into training and am hoping to be fit and ready for the Australian Winter Championships in Brisbane at the end of August. I think the knee injury is a blessing in disguise. Race walking is a sport that occurs all year round and it has sort of forced me into taking a solid break. It has also allowed me to work on some of my weaknesses such as underlying core problems and technique. I have also been discussing with my coach what has worked well and possible areas in improvement in my training so as to make next season even more successful than the last. Best of all, without using it as an excuse, I know I didn’t turn up to the race in Hong Kong in the best shape possible due my knee injury and that’s not really upsetting to me, it just makes me more excited for the future as I know that I have room for improvement. If I had won silver and was in the best form possible then I would be really happy. But knowing that I can do better has definitely kept me motivated.