Vanessa Murby uses two motivating phrases to keep herself in the sport: “If something doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you” and “Victory requires payment in advance” (Photo: Twin Alvarenga/UFJF)
The athlete Vanessa Murby uses two motivating phrases to keep herself in the sport: “If something doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you” and “Victory requires payment in advance”. The “cash register” is filled with hard trainings, focus and the own athlete as an adversary. This is the method she found to try to achieve the best marks at discus throw in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Visually impaired, Ness, as she is known, is one of the podium favorites in the event. The world vice-champion is training at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) along with 31 other members of the Canadian Paralympic team.
“I always pay attention to the criticism I receive about my throwing movements and trainings. As long as you keep focused, it’s easy to identify what needs to be improved, if you have to do more supplementary exercises or change the training routine”, she said. The quote is similar to the thoughts of another athlete, the Brazilian Terezinha Guilhermina, two-times Paralympic champion and world-record holder. In interviews to the press, she claims that her biggest competitor is herself.
Ness isn’t searching information about other competitors, such as the type of technique they’re using, reinforcing that her performance is, in fact, related to how much she can verify in herself what she needs to improve. “When I’m in a competition, I do check the marks the other athletes achieve, but, other than that, I don’t know what they’re training because I can’t control them. It is possible to work in order to improve your own marks. This year, I’m glad I could beat several times my own mark for over seven meters”. In the 2015 World Championships, Ness threw the discus at 25, 52 meters.
Focus, support and Facebook
Lexington, the guide dog, is one of the athlete’s supports (Photo: Twin Alvarenga/UFJF)
The training period at UFJF has been of positive changes for Ness. The athlete is known for her versatility of acting in several events. Currently, she plays discus throw and shot put, and she has already played goalball for Australia and weight lifting for Japan. On the days before Rio 2016, she is focused on discus throw. Through that, she claims to feel the advantages of focusing in only one event for improvement.
Another constant point is the four-year support of the guide dog Lexington. The Labrador has been around the world, following her and Eva Fejes, the guide athlete to whom she is married, in every competition. The dog is not allowed only in the throwing field. “It wouldn’t be good, he’s very lazy and attractive, it would catch other people’s attentions”, she jokes. Every day, Vanessa publishes photos and videos of her training periods on her Facebook page.
On the social network, there are also images of Lex in the hotel; the attention given by police officers when escorting the delegations to the campus; team jokes and explanations about the type of activities such as strength, speed or throw trainings.
Find out more news at UFJF 2016.