Paddler’s journey from surgery to the Olympics
Four years ago, Alicia Hoskin’s life was turned upside down by a major heart scare. Now she’s heading to Tokyo for her Olympic debut. Marvin France
If the Olympics are defined by overcoming adversity, which must surely be the case for the upcoming Games in Tokyo, then Alicia Hoskin can already take a place on the podium.
Four years ago, just as Hoskin’s Olympic dream was about to take flight at the junior canoe sprint world championships in Romania, the 21-year-old underwent what was initially thought to be a routine predeparture health check.
However, the results proved anything but routine.
‘‘I got an ECG (electrocardiogram) done, blood work, all the things that makes my mum feel safe with me heading overseas for a while,’’ Hoskin told Stuff this week after being selected for her maiden Olympic campaign.
‘‘It wasn’t until the cardiologist came back saying it could actually be quite dangerous putting my heart into a high heart rate, training really intense and racing.
‘‘Obviously that was quite devastating as a youngster, being in my first New Zealand team.’’
Hoskin was eventually diagnosed with Wolff-ParkinsonWhite Syndrome, which is present at birth and can cause rapid heartbeats or even heart failure.
Not only was her sporting career in jeopardy, so was her life if the condition went undetected.
Fortunately, the initial tests as part of the Tairawhiti Rising Legends programme paved the way for the Gisborne-born paddler to receive treatment.
Hoskin required a cardiac ablation, a procedure that scars tissue in the heart to block abnormal electrical signals. It involved feeding a catheter up one of the veins in her leg and through the wall of her heart to the other side.
While the surgery was a success, Hoskin had to figure out if
she was mentally prepared to get back in the boat and work her way back to the highest level.
The timing of the operation meant she was in a hospital bed watching her team-mates compete overseas. That could have been disheartening, particularly when the emotion of having something so special ripped away was still raw. Instead, it had the opposite effect.
‘‘It kind of forced me to reflect and think about whether I wanted to dedicate all this time and energy trying to get from point A to point B as fast as possible,’’ Hoskin said. ‘‘After a while, I realised that I missed the people . . . I missed what it brought out of me, because I love trying to become the best version of myself.
‘‘After that I knew this was what I wanted to do, so it almost fuelled the fire a bit more.’’
The road back was a lesson in patience. Hoskin couldn’t do any training for two months, which may not sound long given the severity of her condition but she said it felt like starting from scratch. ‘‘When you have a couple of months off it almost feels like you’re learning how to paddle again. So I definitely didn’t pick up where I left off, but I had that commitment and that determination to commit to the goal and the Olympic dream.’’
Come 2019, after moving to Auckland to train with the Canoe Racing New Zealand highperformance squad, the Olympics were back in focus as Hoskin made her World Championship
debut in Hungary, finishing ninth in the K2 500m A final with Caitlin Regal (ne´ e Ryan).
She had her last cardiac appointment 18 months ago, where the specialist told her she has ‘‘the same probability as anyone else in the world of having a heart condition’’.
‘‘That gave me a lot of confidence to just feel safe and fully confident in what I was doing,’’ she said.
And the comeback was complete on Friday when Hoskin was one of four women’s paddlers selected to the New Zealand team to compete in Tokyo. ‘‘Everyone supported me on that journey and I feel very grateful to my family for being there for me . . . That was only four or so years ago. It’s crazy what you can do when you have that passion and that determination to make it happen, as well as the team around you. They’ve helped me a lot over the last couple of years to step into this position.’’
Hoskin, the youngest member of the canoe sprint squad, will compete in the K2 500m with Teneale Hatton, as well as the K4 500m alongside one of her biggest supporters, Lisa Carrington.
Hoskin often seeks advice from Carrington, with the key message from the double Olympic champ to embrace ‘‘being green’’.
‘‘It’s really important that she needs to experience it through her own eyes. I think for her the naivety is really awesome going in,’’ Carrington said.
‘‘Being in the K4, that purpose to do it for the team to work hard – I think that’s ultimately what she needs to do. Just go in, do her best and not get too distracted by all the external stuff.’’
Holding the Olympics during the Covid-19 pandemic means there’s a lot to take in, even for a veteran like Carrington.
But given all Hoskin has overcome just to make the team, it won’t be difficult to follow her mentor’s advice.
‘‘I feel really grateful to be in a team with girls that have been my role models for 10 or so years.
‘‘Obviously this Olympics is going to be very different and we’re taking the health and safety very seriously.
‘‘It will be a very different experience but I’m sure it will still be a very special one.’’