Courtney is a great example of campaign investment and support as part of HPSNZ’s 35-sport Aspirational Investment portfolio, introduced following Tokyo 2020, to include sports outside traditional Olympics, Paralympics and Commonwealth Games, says Performance Team Leader for Aspirational Sports, Paul Smith.
Motocross is considered to be a physically demanding form of motorcycle sport which tests both the rider and their 100kg-plus machine.
And to help Courtney prepare physically, her HPSNZ support team steps in.
A World Champion since 2019, Courtney says it’s awesome having HPSNZ support her programme, whether it’s through Strength & Conditioning coach Mikey Jacobs, Massage Therapist Yvette Latta, women’s doctor Helen Fulcher, or her Performance Life Coach, Christine Arthur, and Performance Team Leader campaign manager, Katherine Oberlin-Brown.
“To know I can make a phone call and come in for a physio appointment, or just having all the HPSNZ facilities available to me is fantastic. It means wherever I’m at in my campaign I can keep training.”
Courtney gives a big shout out to Mikey, her Strength & Conditioning coach. “He really holds me accountable, he pushes me hard and makes me work right to the end. And the fact he joins me in the circuit and training sessions is awesome,” says Courtney.
For Mikey’s part, he says this is the first time working with an athlete like Courtney who has been driving her own strength and conditioning up until HPSNZ came on board with her three years ago. “We are in regular contact. She messages me, we’ll catch up, we’ll have some meetings and come up with a plan.
“A key new element of Courtney’s preparation over the past few years is the use of the heat chamber at HPSNZ’s Dunedin facility. The heat chamber is an intensification session and a really good reminder for Courtney of how hard it is competing in the heat and humidity of a European summer coming out of our winter,” says Mikey.
“It’s awesome watching Courtney because of all the work she puts in, how hard she works, how hard she thinks and how hard it is to execute on the world stage and yet she makes it look effortless and fun.”
Another important member of Courtney’s HPSNZ support team is Katherine Oberlin-Brown who has a unique relationship with her. Katherine is not only Courtney’s PTL and link with her NSO, she was herself a two-time motocross World Champion in 2006 and 2007 so knows the sport and its demands from both sides.
“It is a privilege to work with Courtney and my experience as a rider helps me to understand and share her commitment, dedication, drive and knowledge of the risks,” says Katherine. “More importantly, it has been rewarding to facilitate her campaign’s performance preparation needs through ensuring she has access to the HPSNZ support team as a way to enhance her preparations as this is something she hadn’t had before.”
Courtney first jumped on a bike at the age of seven and after starting with laps around her house against her brother, two decades later she’s still taking on the world and winning.
“I don’t know what I love most about the sport but I get a lot of enjoyment from knowing that each day I go to work, I can learn and get better,” she says.
She also says how fortunate she is to be constantly around really top class athletes. “Getting to work alongside athletes like Aaron Smith is massive. Most people only get to see the glory on the weekends but being in the same facility has meant I get to see behind the scenes of how hard the grind actually is. There is no doubt that the top athletes are the ones working the hardest and doing the extras. It’s definitely motivating to be involved in.”
“I know I’m capable of many more world championships and that’s the goal. Living this life is pretty special. It gives me goosebumps talking about it.”
The 2024 World Women’s Motocross Championship will start on Saturday 6 April and ends on Sunday 8 September and includes five rounds over 22 weeks in five different countries.
