‘There’s no other feeling quite like it’

She was a clumsy child who used to skip PE classes. So, decades on, Nicki Torrington surprised everyone when she began winning medals for ice skating

Stepping out on to the ice, a hush falls as I glide into the centre of the rink. Suddenly the classical music begins and I’m off, launching into a routine of jumps and spins I’ve spent weeks practising. There’s no feeling quite like it and, as the adrenaline kicks in, sometimes it really feels like I’m flying.

Even though I’m approaching 50, I compete in national and international competitions and have won numerous medals. I’m fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been – very different from the clumsy child who used to invent illnesses to get out of PE lessons at school.

I first skated in my early 20s and had lessons until my two children were born. When the kids reached their teens, I had more time for me and went back to the rink. I really threw myself into it. I wanted to do the best I could, and get rid of any memory of the clumsy person I had once been.

Soon I was learning routines. I worked hard to conquer my nerves and at the age of 35 I entered my first free skating competition at my local rink. I felt very self-conscious and came off thinking I’d never do it again, but I soon changed my mind and was back training hard for the next competition.

These days I’m on the ice four or five days a week and I enter three major competitions a year, which are held for adult amateurs like me. I’m continuing to improve, and just the sound of my skating blades skimming across the ice is enough to put me in a good mood.

I’ve had plenty of injuries over the years, including a broken ankle, but it’s never put me off. Paying for coaching and entering competitions means skating is an expensive sport, but I think spending my money on what I love doing is justified.

The payoff is how great I feel. My legs are solid muscle and I’m very strong – you have to be to perform all those jumps. For the last four years I’ve had problems with my thyroid, which leads to weight gain and fatigue, but the skating is helping me to beat those symptoms.

When I started learning as an adult there weren’t many others like me, but it’s really taken off, especially now that adults who learnt as children are coming back to the sport. Quite simply, skating makes me happy and keeps me healthy – and I’m planning to do it well into my 70s.

Just the sound of my blades skimming across the ice puts me in a good mood