As role models go, Neath Port Talbot’s teenagers have a good one in Hannah Brier.
The 27-year-old is a youth worker by day, helping kids facing issues such as homelessness and mental health illnesses get their lives back on track.
By night, she trains as a 400m athlete, and this week will fly both the Welsh and British flags at the World Championship in Tokyo.
Brier is a surprise inclusion for the women’s 4x400m relay squad and will make her World Championship bow.
But sticking true to her chaotic lifestyle, she admits it has all been a bit last-minute.
All ready for an end-of-season holiday to Turkey, where friends are getting married, she had packed her bags and was almost out of the door for the airport when the phone rang to say she had the call-up.
When the excitement of a first Word Championship with the British team subsided, she had to quickly contact Neath Port Talbot council to tell them she’d still be off on annual leave – but for three weeks, not just a few days.
Then, she called the approximate 30 children she’s currently working with.
“I had to say, ‘look, I’m going to be gone for three weeks, but there’s a good reason for it’,” she said.
“They Google my name, and that is quite funny, because some were like ‘I can’t believe you kept this a secret from us, this is why you’re so positive all the time’.
“I do hope that some aspects of my athlete life transfer into the lives of these young people.
“My lifestyle’s a bit chaotic, because I do that on the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, and then I train, either before work, or after work, and then compete on weekends.
“So, it’s, it’s a lot, but, for me, I think it works really well, because they both complement each other.
“A bad day on the track, is not a bad day in reality when I’m dealing with some really, really big issues.
“It really helps, it puts everything, everything into perspective, and I do really love it.”
She might love her day job, but Brier admits she has not always loved athletics.
For much of her career, she was a 100m and 200m sprinter, but she nearly quit altogether two years ago as a combination of injury, illness, and an eating disorder in the wake of the 2022 Commonwealth Games sent her into a spiral.
Needing to make a drastic change, she embraced the harsh reality of training for the 400m and an impressive performance at the UK Championships, where she made the final, caught the eye of selectors.
“I had a really rough couple of years,” she said – speaking at a Novuna-backed British camp, with the company financing the ambitions of millions across the UK, from helping business grow and individuals plan for the future, to backing British Athletics on the global stage.
“I was constantly getting injured, I was constantly unwell, I was battling sort of a disordered eating habit that wasn’t really healthy.
“I set myself two goals, which was to break the Welsh record and make that Commonwealth Games and once I’d done that, I don’t think people really talk about, like, once you’ve set yourself a goal and then done it, what do you do then?
“So, I changed events. It set a completely new challenge for me; it’s honestly been the best decision ever.
“It’s completely changed my mindset, the training is so much fun, I know people say it’s the worst training in the world, but I actually really enjoy it. And I just took the pressure off, and I started enjoying the sport again.”
Brier is now hoping to emulate her brother, Joe, who was part of the mixed 4x400m relay team that won World Championship silver in 2022.
It’s more than a pipedream. Britain’s women’s 4x400m team have won bronze at the last two World Championships and last summer’s Olympics.
“It is the aim, absolutely,” Brier added. “It would be amazing if we could do it, it would be a great way to finish this off.”
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