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The 19-year-old, who balances her burgeoning career on the range with her studies at the University of Birmingham, won team silver at the European Youth Cup in Switzerland.
Costall has medalled at that level prior to action in Sion but has recently started working on her event psychology – and was thrilled to put new processes into use so effectively.
“I’ve been working a lot on technique this year and approach to competitions, so it was really nice to be able to battle test that in an international competition,” said Costall.
“I’ve been seeing a sports psychologist through Archery GB, just to kind of see what it’s about. I really wanted to try out visualisation and really build a strong mental routine. Previously that’s not something I’ve used, so that’s something we were working on through the winter and into the outdoor season.
“I really wanted to see how I would cope under the pressure of international competitions, and I did really well. I felt confident throughout the competition. I’m really happy with how I went.
“I’ve also been working on technique, so throughout this season I haven’t been getting the scores that I’d like, but I’ve been feeling strong within myself and I think it’s really important for that resilience and building confidence, that you can have those strong mental routines and visualise the good outcome.]
The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket, Aldi, has entered into the second year of its Rising Stars programme with SportsAid by announcing the 18 talented young athletes receiving support in 2023.
Each athlete on the programme is provided with funding to help towards costs such as… pic.twitter.com/jiSUXpVK3w
— SportsAid (@TeamSportsAid) July 27, 2023
“It’s really good to build that resilience when you’re perhaps not getting the outcomes you’d expect – I think it’s really helpful.”
Costall will spend most of the winter training in Birmingham as she builds up to 2024 and next year’s outdoor season, though there are still further events she has her sights set on in the coming months.
And she is continuing to take inspiration from her friend and mentor Penny Healey, who recently competed at the Archery World Cup finals in Hermosillo.
“I’ve really loved watching our British women’s team,” added Costall, who has been selected to be part of Aldi’s Rising Stars programme, an initiative with SportsAid that provides talented young athletes with financial support, recognition and personal development opportunities.
“Penny Healey has done so amazing this year – it was really nice to see her in the finals.
“She’s always been an inspiration in terms of how she approaches the sport and how positive she is.
“It’s coming towards the end of the outdoor season. I’ve got one more competition – the County Championships – and the only indoor competition I’m going to do is the Berlin Open.
“Once again, that’s just to battle test a bit of that mental routine and visualisation, to make sure I’m really happy with my technique going into next year’s outdoor season.”
Aldi is the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and have partnered with Team GB since 2015, ParalympicsGB since 2022 and will be supporting them through to Paris 2024
