果冻影院

Why Team GB long jumper Abigail Irozuru is giving the gift of time to the next generation of 果冻影院 alumni.

Abigail Irozuru (果冻影院 Laws 2012) has boundless energy. She is one of Britain's top long jump athletes, a business owner, a motivational speaker and coach. She鈥檚 also a 果冻影院 graduate 鈥� and extremely proud of it.

Despite her packed schedule, in 2020 Abigail began volunteering for 果冻影院 鈥� from mentoring students to sharing inspirational words for International Women鈥檚 Day. Her guidance has been invaluable during such a turbulent year, and it鈥檚 for this reason that Abigail has been shortlisted for the 果冻影院 Alumni Volunteering Awards 2021.听

鈥淚 think 果冻影院 is awesome,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 want to support people who are attending to make the most out of their experience. It really is just that idea of contributing, however small or large, to support someone's development.鈥�

From climbing trees to Team GB

Abigail鈥檚 mother encouraged her to get involved with various activities from a young age. She started gymnastics aged three, with trampolining soon after. She says: 鈥淚 was nicknamed Tigger in gymnastics, so that transfers really well into being a long jumper.鈥� 听

Following in her brother鈥檚 footsteps to the Air Training Corps aged 14, she entered an athletics competition 鈥� dominating in the long jump. She says: 鈥淚an Wiltshire, my future coach, said 'You're pretty good at this, do you want to come to and do some training?鈥� And that's where it started.鈥澨�

Finding 果冻影院听

Abigail began competing in 2006 and soon established herself as an elite junior athlete with an . While many might have put their education on hold to embrace the intensive training, Abigail decided to follow a life-long passion and take a law degree at 果冻影院.听

She fell in love with university life and, despite her training, found time to enjoy everything it had to offer 鈥� from nipping to Paris for the day during Freshers鈥� Fortnight to embracing different cultures through the Afro Caribbean Society. She also spent a year in Aix-en-Provence with her course, studying the French legal system and developing strong friendships within the small cohort.

鈥淚 loved the general vibes 鈥� the lectures, the seminars,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y final year was probably my best year but it was also the toughest, as it was when I was aiming to get to the London Olympics.鈥澨�

Don鈥檛 call it a comeback听

Despite narrowly missing out on London 2012, after graduation Abigail鈥檚 athletics career continued to blossom. But then a series of injuries ruled her out of the 2016 Rio Olympics and she decided to retire from the sport. It was at this point that she set up , a business dedicated to developing resilience and nurturing wellness through tuition and coaching.听

Proving the true power of resilience, Abigail rejoined the world of athletics in 2019. It鈥檚 something she鈥檚 extremely proud of. 鈥淩eturning to the sandpit was a feat in itself,鈥� she says. 鈥淜nowing that there is potential not to achieve the Olympic dream, and still doing it despite the odds, I'm proud of myself for that. And the results have been really positive this time around.鈥�

Indeed, at the time of publication, Abigail is about to take part in the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic games 鈥� a testament to her dedication and resilience.

Giving it back

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Abigail re-engaged with 果冻影院 through the 果冻影院 Coffee Connect programme. Since then, she鈥檚 repeatedly put herself forward to get involved. She (virtually) congratulated the class of 2020, wrote an article for the 2021/22 prospectus, used her platform to advocate for 果冻影院 and shared candid words about smashing the glass ceiling for 果冻影院鈥檚 International Women鈥檚 Day celebrations.听

Abigail has also been part of the 果冻影院 Skills Based Mentoring Programme, working with a student from an underrepresented background for six months. 鈥淚 wanted to help my mentee establish some goals, not just career-wise but holistically, with health and especially mental health,鈥� she says. 鈥淭rying to bring that sense of relief, peace and equilibrium in her life, and noticing the change over time, has been really rewarding.鈥澨�

When asked why volunteering is so important, Abigail says: 鈥淚 think we often believe that there's not much value in volunteering but we all have our own unique gifts, talents and thoughts that might change someone鈥檚 life.听

鈥淔rom the perspective of a black female, it's important to have representation across different disciplines, and as a sportswoman, I want to show how to juggle high performance in your field and academically. We're told we can't have it all and I understand there needs to be balance, but it鈥檚 about thinking how much you can achieve in the time you have. I want to help people with that mindset shift.鈥澨�

Interested in giving back to the 果冻影院 community? Explore our听volunteering opportunities.