Carolyn Hayes

When we caught up with Carolyn Hayes in 2020, she was reflecting on a transformative journey that began with her pursuit of a Medical degree at University of Limerick (UL). Little did she anticipate that her time at UL would not only shape her career as a Medical Doctor but also lead her into the world of triathlon, ultimately propelling her towards the Olympics.

“When I applied to study Medicine in UL, I went with the sole intention of qualifying as a doctor and had no aspirations to do triathlon” Carolyn Hayes begins. “You could say that by being in UL, I was exposed or enabled to explore sport a bit more. It was a case of right place, right time.” That exposure took her on an incredible journey, with the Olympics still to come. 

Scholarship 

While Carolyn was accepted to the four-year Graduate Entry Medicine degree programme at GEMS, UL, she’s not the only family member to have studied here. “My twin sister Rachel did her undergraduate degree in UL too, Law and European Studies, so I was familiar with the great set-up in UL before my own postgrad”. 

Carolyn, who graduated as a Medical Doctor in 2017, was one of the first recipients of the inaugural UL Beo Sports Scholarships and it was during her second year that Carolyn met some triathletes from Limerick Triathlon Club. Her old coach, John Dempsey, used to write the club swim sessions and she was encouraged by club members Dr Michael Griffin and his wife Joan to join in. It was through these swim sessions that Carolyn was introduced to triathlon. 

Carolyn remembers always having sport in her life. “I come from a swimming and rugby-mad family, plus I have three brothers and was always trying to impress them and join in.” While Carolyn threw herself into camogie, Gaelic football, basketball, swimming and soccer during primary school, she felt the need to scale it back to just swimming and hockey while attending Laurel Hill F.C.J. secondary school. As an undergrad in Dublin, she took up water polo and represented Ireland internationally. She also ran both the Dublin and New York marathons during this time. 

“Sport always helped with my studies and I can honestly say I was a better student because of it” she recalls. “But it was after arriving at UL that I realised I had the best sports facilities in the country at my disposal” adding quickly “although I was reluctant to depart from Glucksman library for long!” 

UL Sport 

“Physical activity is the best way to start the day as it really sets you up” Carolyn says. “I used to study from 4:30 am-6:45 am and then swim 7:00 am-8 am. Then, I’d arrive into morning lectures or the library buzzing. It really helped me through studying medicine.” And as a junior doctor, she was in the habit of cycling to work and running up to three times a week. Time management is also something Carolyn says she has always been good at to enable me to have a study/life balance. 

“I am lucky to count both Alan Ward and David Mahedy of UL Sport as friends. They do an incredible job with the UL Arena and while training and events have been parked for now, I have to say it was great as both a doctor and athlete to see the UL facility converted to a field hospital during the current pandemic.” 

Doctor first and foremost 

Currently, Carolyn is out of the hospital setting. With 2020 being the Olympic year and the Tokyo Games originally scheduled to take place this past July, she took the decision to step back from medicine in January because she had to secure qualification and ensure she maintained her health. 

“It has been incredibly difficult to stay away from the hospital environment during Covid, I am a Doctor first and foremost”. She adds “Every cell in my body was screaming at me to go and help. It has been particularly difficult watching my colleagues and friends working on the frontline and having to cope with so much stress and the loss of innocent life. As doctors, we are trained to cope well with work stress and the associated loss of life but this pandemic has tested everyone’s resolve and affected many both physically and mentally.” 

Sacrifices and Benefits 

“I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I do and to have achieved so many goals, both academically and in sport. But, I have also missed out on family occasions, birthdays, and being chief bridesmaid at my best friend’s wedding (she was due to marry this July and this is now switched to July 2021 when I will be in Tokyo at the Olympics). Having said that, I don’t necessarily count missing out on things as a sacrifice, because I am focused on the end-goal. And those around me know how much I put into training and they understand” Carolyn explains. 

“Everyone has a choice” she adds. “Elite level sport is a choice and one I happily made and I feel fortunate that I have always been encouraged to pursue my goals and dreams. I have an incredible bunch of people behind me who go out of their way to make things happen for me.” 

Overcoming Olympic postponement 

So much of life as we know it has been affected by the global pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19, including the postponement of the 2020 Olympics. “This was incredibly hard” Carolyn says “I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the announcement emerged, as I’m sure every Olympic hopeful recalls.“ 

The first person to ring me was my coach, Eanna McGrath, both he and Gavin Noble of HupHup coach me. I felt completely thrown and a bit deflated” she recalls. But after it began to sink in, Carolyn says she realised two things: firstly, it was the right call. “It is far better than the alternative of having the Games cancelled, no sport is more important than people’s health” this doctor states emphatically. Secondly, Carolyn began to look at the postponement as an incredible opportunity. “I had another 12 months to focus on doing what I could to get better”. 

Life lessons 

Carolyn concludes by saying “Sport prepares you well for setbacks in life. From a young age, you learn to cope with setbacks, disappointment, defeat and missing out on team selections. So, I think it’s a great life skill and I would encourage every person and parent to get their kids involved in any sport from a young age”.