Louise Mair Profile

Name: Louise Mair

Born: 05/10/88

Weight Class: -49kg

Hometown: Elgin

Taekwondo Club: Focus Taekwondo

Trains: Elite Academy Gym, Manchester

Awards:
Commonwealth Championships 2006 – Silver
European Championships 2008 - Bronze
Dutch Open 2008 - Gold
British Open 2008 - Gold
Belgian Open 2009 - Gold

How did you first get involved in Taekwondo?
I went along with school friends and started from there.

When did you join the elite academy?
October 2006

What has been your greatest experience so far within the sport?
Competing in major competitions and watching the Beijing Olympics was a great experience.

What are your targets for 2009?
I want to put in a good performance at the World Championships and hopefully challenge for a medal.

What are your targets for the future?
Keep training hard and to perform at the Opens and major events. I’d like to medal at the Worlds later this year and hopefully the Olympics in 2012.

Who inspires you within Taekwondo?
Paul Green. A great athlete as well as a coach. Physically he is amazing and has a great attitude.

Louise Mair (red) of The Great Britain National Team takes victory in The British Taekwondo Open 2008 

Outside of Taekwondo, who is your sporting hero?
Chris Hoy and Kelly Holmes.

If you had not chosen Taekwondo, which sport would you be playing?
Running. I competed at it for 3 or 4 years – shorter distances.

If you had not become an athlete, which career path would you have followed?
I don’t think there is really another career path for me that I would enjoy. I will always be involved in sport one way or another.

What is the best thing about being a professional athlete?
Training every day to do what I enjoy. Representing the country is important to me.

What do you enjoy most about academy life?
Concentrating on what I love to do, with people who have the same goals as me.