Jenna working towards the Winter Olympics 2010

COLERAINE'S international ice skating star, Jenna McCorkell, has one thing on her mind - the Winter Olympics in 2010. As Jenna works towards next year's European and World Championships she will constantly have one eye on a place in the GB team for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

With only one full season of international competition left before the Olympics, Jenna can see the finishing line up ahead.
She said: "What people don't understand is the level of commitment, work and consistency in top level competition required. I have been training for this moment since I was six-years-old and I am determined to get there.

"I am really enjoying my skating at the moment and my performance level has really improved this year. It is great to be working with my coach Yuri Bureiko again and I am really looking forward to competing in next year's internationals and then in the Winter Olympics. That is my ultimate goal."
World and European coach Yuri Bureiko said: "Jenna possesses a special quality that exudes excellence and she is the hardest worker on and off the ice I have ever trained. It is one thing to have talent but if you do not work the talent you may as well forget it.

"Jenna has already made her results outshine any other this year. She is beating her own personal bests each time she goes out and tries her best each time she meets the ice either in training or in competition - therefore one cannot ask for anymore from any athlete. I am delighted with her progress."

The support Jenna has received over the years is something she will always treasure. "The support from the Sport NI lottery, The Mary Peters Trust, The Dromona Award, Coleraine Borough Council and so many individuals, in particular my family, over the years have all made this possible and without their support and belief in me I would not have made it this far. But above all you have to love what you do."
Now in her penultimate Olympic year, Jenna is hard at work in training for the next season. The next event will be the British Senior Championships, a title she has taken no less than five times, then it will be an immediate flight to Helsinki for the European Championships on the January 19.

Following that there is a short break before intense training for the World Championships in Los Angeles on March 23.


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