TeamELEY spotlight Elena Galiabovitch

2018 has been a great year for Australia’s Elena Galiabovitch. Fresh from a Silver medal in front of a home crowd at the Commonwealth Games, she won her first ever World Cup in Changwon. Elena spoke to us about how she overcomes the pressure of a competition:

“I try to spend time doing things I enjoy to wind down: reading, talking to friends and family, sometimes watching a few things on TV. I will have a talk with my coach before the event and have a goal in mind, but once that goal is set, then it is time to relax when off the field of play.

It is a challenging question because although I aim to have consistent preparation for every match, because I work as a doctor in surgery my hours are not always the same and I never know what might happen on a shift at work. I find that I have to be flexible with my preparation and the way I deal with the pressure of each competition may vary.

For local events I often fly in the day before once I have finished work, so there’s only a short period of time to prepare. For bigger events where I spend longer at the venue prior to the competition, I can be conscious of how I organise my schedule and make sure I have enough rest and time away to think about other things.

On any given competition day, I do my best to keep my thoughts on myself and my shooting, feel assured and confident in my level of ability, and do the best that I can, knowing that each day is different and brings different challenges.”