Hers is not a common case. It is very unusual for an athlete to qualify for both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games at the same time. British athlete Adele Nicoll achieved this feat this year. She has come a long way from being "sad" and "pretty lost" in 2020 to having a real chance of achieving this rare feat. 

Adele Nicoll was British shot put champion in 2022 and 2023, and in a complete contrast to that discipline, she competed in the World Bobsleigh Championships this year. "I think about how far I have come from 2020 to now. My life has changed completely," she told AFP from Germany. 

"I remember when I was nine, I wrote down what I wanted to be by 2020 and put it in an envelope. I opened it while I was cleaning up at home during the Covid lockdown and I was very, very sad because the goal was to be a professional athlete. I realised that I had failed my younger self and that gave me the kick I needed to move forward and achieve my childhood dream," added Nicoll.

The British athlete was a reserve in the British bobsleigh team for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and now she has her sights set on the 2026 edition in Italy. That is her top priority and where she has devoted most of her time, but along the way she showed that she is still among the best in athletics with an eighth place finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Nicoll admits that qualifying for the Paris Olympics this year could be difficult. She has invested a lot of time in her other sport, bobsleigh, where she also hopes to become a driver. "The 2026 Winter Olympics are my first priority, but if I can qualify for Paris, that would be a bonus," she said.

If she doesn't make it, it won't be for lack of trying, as she has followed her parents' advice from a young age: "Always show up and never give up. "Perseverance is very hard to beat. You never deserve to be at the top of the world if you're not prepared to move forward when you're at the bottom," she told AFP.

Nicoll has come back stronger after the hard years before and during the pandemic, between 2019 and 2021. "I was really lost with life and where I wanted to go." However, bobsleigh came almost by accident, after a message from her current teammate. "Have you ever tried bobsleighing? I saw your training video and you look very strong," said Mica McNeill on Instagram.

She didn't hesitate, she jumped on board, but only after losing almost 20 kilos. It sounds like something out of a film, but she and McNeill finished second in a World Cup race on only their second outing: the first podium finish for British women in 13 years.

Nicoll has it all. Her mental toughness is unquestionable, with a degree in clinical neuroscience, a masters in psychology and plans to do a doctorate in clinical psychology. She has put this on hold in favour of bobsleigh, where her limits are not really known.