When Ireland rower Philip Doyle qualified for the Olympics with his team mate Ronan Byrne last year, he put his medical career on hold to focus on Tokyo 2020.
But then restrictive measures were introduced to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, rowing was suspended and the games were postponed.
Within days of Toyko 2020 being put off until 2021, the Banbridge doctor switched roles again to return to the front line to help out during the crisis.
He's been working on the wards completing his Foundation one year at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, Co Down.
As a trainee doctor, he’s liaising with a number of teams and working on a general medical ward. On his team there’s also a consultant and a middle grade doctor above him.
He said they have had a number of patients come in who have tested positive for Covid-19, but they make them comfortable and transfer them to Craigavon Area Hospital which is the designated hospital for patients with coronavirus in the area.
Mr Doyle should be preparing to go to Italy for pre-games training, but instead he’s fitting in his regime around his hospital shifts.
"I’m finding I’m having to train in the mornings, trying not to wake my Mum up who’s sleeping upstairs, coming into hospital for 8.30am, work and then go home and try and get some food in and then try and train again in the evenings," he said.
"It is difficult to try and motivate yourself when you’re training on your own, and not having the water and scenery moving past you, the miles seem to take a wee bit longer," he added.
Stamina-wise Mr Doyle said the training and shifts are manageable, but maintaining his calorie intake is proving slightly more challenging and he’s hoping he’ll soon be able to find a balance.
"I’m eating on the way home from work, then jump straight on to the rowing machine when I get back. But there’s some days, just with the new PPE, the masks and the visors and things you’re not allowed food or water on the wards, just because it’s a risk. So I’m really struggling to keep the food and hydration intake going throughout the day," he said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Mr Doyle said when he's doing endurance training full time there can be a lack of mental stimulation, something he does get from medicine which he calls his first passion.
He has 8 months to complete his foundation year in the hospital but he’s already thinking about the recently announced rescheduled European Championships in October.
He’s hoping to take some annual leave around then, if it goes ahead, so he can do some training camps and get back in the boat with his rowing partner Ronan Byrne.
For now he’s not too concerned about how this year out will affect his Olympic chances, he’s just glad to be able to prioritise medicine.
After securing Olympic qualification and a silver medal at the World Championships last year with double sculls partner Mr Byrne, he’s even more optimistic about next year.
"To be honest I think it will actually improve our chances next year, because it will light a fire underneath us and you don’t want to get burnt. So, we’ll really push, and I think we’ll be more dangerous next year than we could have been this year," he said.
But while the Olympics challenge is something Mr Doyle wants to see through, his love affair with medicine continues to grow as he works alongside health workers during the coronavirus crisis.
"Hopefully something like this doesn’t happen again in our lifetime. I haven’t worked with a team like this before and it really feels like we’re coming through something together.
I think everyone after this will have a different outlook on life, and what I’m getting from it is how amazing people can be when they need to be.
It’s just incredible to see what people are willing to give up for others. It’s really like the spirit of mankind. You have to believe in mankind and this is really showing people what we can do."
