Very few of us accomplish part of what we wanted to be when we were kids. More often than not, we have unrealistic expectations, but this isn’t bad; we were kids with idealistic views, right? Well, Lauren Price is an example that you can do exactly what you wanted to do when you were a naïve kid.
In the early 2000s, when she was just eight-year-old, she wrote down what she wanted to do. In that list, she let everybody know that she wanted to play international football for Wales, become a kickboxing world champion and go to the Olympic Games. Of course, those are huge dreams for a little kid; however, she accomplished everything on that list.
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What is her story?
Accomplish such big goals at 27 is something that should be in a movie. A lot of us haven’t even finished a career at that age. Not only this, but she also won a gold medal in her category in the Olympics. Her story is an example of resilience and strength, a perfect picture of how we can reach our dreams. And she did this on her own and with very little moral support.
When she was only three days old, it was decided that her parents wouldn’t be able to raise her. In consequence, her nana and granddad, Linda and Derek, respectively, raised her. With this, Lauren started to live in their house, in south Wales town of Ystrad Mynach. They said that “she was an adorable child, but always very busy — into everything.”
When did she start her career in sports?
At first, Lauren tried athletics, but the coaches said that she was too young. However, a former football coach contacted an old friend that was setting a football club. With this, her career started as the first and only girl in that football club. Later, thanks to the love she had for the psychical side of the sport, she started kickboxing.
Her first coach, Bod Taylor, had a club called Devils Martial Arts — Another great medallist trained her, Lauren Williams. He coached groups of children, but he never forgets the day that Lauren Price entered the room. “She just had such an appetite for working. She always wanted to hit the pads.” He said about her training days.
By the time she was 14, she was fighting adults in one sport; however, she wasn’t able to keep playing in boy’s teams. This was a turning point for her because her capabilities were out of this world. Nevertheless, she represented Wales at under-16, under-17, under-19 and senior level, all before her 17th birthday. She earned gold medals and senior caps in both sports.
How did she land in the Olympics?
When she was 16, she moved to Manchester, where she lived with the athlete, Jade Jones. Both joined the Olympics program — Jade even became a double Olympic champion. During her time in Manchester, she said, “In kickboxing, I was always better with my hands than my legs. So I decided to come back and want to a boxing gym”.
This was her first time in a boxing gym, and that changed her life. After that, she started to take her improvement seriously. And, as ever, her granddad would take her to train whenever he could. Thanks to her background and physical fitness, she hit the ground in no time. She impressed everybody, and at 17 y/o, she was selected for the Youth World Championships.
Even with all the trophies and recognition, she gained thanks to sports, she needed a job. This is why she became a taxi driver during the nights, and thanks to this, she could make ends meet. However, after the 2016 Olympics, she got a chance to trial for the British programme in Sheffield.
How COVID affected her
Finally, she was accepted into the 18 months program. During her time in the program, she won more gold medals and trophies. Thanks to all of her efforts and the programs, by 2020, she was on the top of the world.
We could say that the rest is the story because we know that she accomplished all of her dreams. However, the COVID-19 made this a bit challenging too; she said, “It affected me more mentally than anything. Just because I’d’ been on such a roll of winning. Luckily enough, I had a good team behind me, and they got me through it and peaked me at the right time”.
