Adele Nicoll is living proof of the old saying that a change is as good as a rest.
And if you can enjoy both - as Wales’ winter Olympian has managed over recent months - then so much the better.
Nicoll, from Welshpool, is currently at the Winter Olympics in Beijing as part of Great Britain’s women’s bobsleigh squad – one of two Welsh women at the Games, alongside Laura Deas.
Bronze medallist in the skeleton four years ago, Deas competed in a range of sports before finding her feet on the ice.
The same goes for Nicoll, although her transition – from shot putter to bobsleigh reserve for the GB squad – is far more recent.
She only tried her hand at the sport 18 months ago, but says the chance to do something new re-invigorated her as an athlete.
"I think bobsleigh has brought back my happiness in terms of being true to myself as an athlete,” says the 25-year-old.
“And now my programme is very much more individually tailored towards what I enjoy doing, what I'm good at doing.
“As a specialist thrower, I spent a lot of time thinking I needed to be like others who were better than me. I almost abandoned my strengths and started trying to be stronger and train like an athlete that naturally just wasn’t me.
“Of course, you always have to work on your weaknesses, but in terms of all the running and jumping, and all that kind of stuff I did before throwing, then it's all back in my programme.”
The rest period for Nicoll came during the first lockdown. Like many people, the pause in life gave her time to reflect on things and assess her priorities.
Indirectly, the lockdown also led to her being spotted training on an Instagram video. Those clips – stumbled upon by experienced GB bobsleigh star Mica McNeill - would eventually lead to the invite to train with the British bobsleigh squad.
"When I was a youngster, and I was doing so well at the shot over other events, I was training like I am now,” adds Nicol.
“So, maybe I should never have tried to train like a thrower. Maybe I should just always have trained like Adele, if that makes sense?
