Jumping from Sand to Scrubs - How Wales’ Sarah Abrams Balanced her Athletic and Medical Careers During the Pandemic
I first met Sarah Abrams in America when I was 18 and she was 19. She was the roommate of a teammate of mine at Harvard. Sarah was a long-jumper on the ‘Track’ team, as it’s called in the U.S. When you meet Sarah you can immediately tell she’s a performance athlete. First, there’s her height. While that might be the most obvious giveaway, there are several other telltale clues. She is at once relaxed and disciplined; energetic but with a certain calm and focus. We instantly clicked.
Sarah graduated from Harvard in 2015. Though long-jump was still a part of her DNA she had lost the love for it during University and was on a break. A few years later, we met again, this time in London. Sarah was now a medical student at Imperial College and, in this new chapter, she had refound her love for jumping. Refinding her form, she was jumping better and better, culminating in a 3rd place finish at British Indoor Championships last February.
Then, Covid happened. The pandemic was a huge disruptor for all athletes. Even so, it’s hard to think of an athlete who experienced Covid more directly than Sarah. As a medical trainee, Sarah was balancing working in Covid wards with athletics training. As strict lockdowns hit the U.K. Sarah found both sides of her life upended.
Enter: the garage. With tracks closed across the country Sarah decided to rent out a small garage and use it as her gym. With help from Welsh athletics and Imperial College she kitted out the garage with a barbell and other essential equipment. Sarah describes this makeshift gym as “quite janky” but it did the job. This would be her refuge for the next six months as Covid was at its most brutal.
During the deadliest wave, in January, Sarah was staffed in the Covid wards. This period was the hardest by far. A few days in, she caught Covid herself and was sick for several weeks. Back in the hospital, the days were testing.
“It was tiring physically because you’re on your feet all day but, more than that, it was really exhausting mentally. "Every day we would come in and see the same heartbreaking situations. And it was relentless. Most afternoons were spent updating relatives over the phone who weren't able to come in and see their loved ones in their last few days.”
Training after days like this was extremely difficult. Leaving behind those experiences at the hospital and getting into a different mental zone was nearly impossible. Sarah says she also felt guilty.
"I really struggled with the identity of being an "elite athlete." I felt enormously privileged to have continued access to resources and facilities when others did not, but I couldn't shake feeling guilty that I was able to continue doing what is ultimately a hobby, when other people weren't able to do theirs. On top of that, jumping in sand just wasn't important when I had such a clear view of what was going on in the hospital. This internal struggle made maintaining 100% commitment to training difficult."
Despite all these challenges, Sarah says this period made her more sure than ever that she wants to be a doctor.
“I’ve always felt it is a privilege, not a burden, to be a doctor with clinical responsibility.”
The pandemic has given her a different perspective on her career. "Doctors don't become doctors for external recognition, but it has been nice, and I think very important, that the public are more aware of the invaluable role of the NHS, and the pressures it is currently facing."
What’s been the effect on her athletics career? Sarah admits it’s been a difficult comeback. In some ways, she is still processing the last year. "I haven't yet got back to the physical and mental shape I was in heading into the pandemic." Nevertheless, she is determined to get back into a rhythm now, balancing training with her new job at Kingston Hospital (she graduated from Imperial earlier this year).
What’s next? Sarah’s got her sights set on the Commonwealth Games next summer. Beyond that, how much longer will she compete? "There are several doctor-athletes managing and succeeding in their dual careers who inspire me to continue training alongside work." Whatever the future holds for Sarah, it seems clear that a significant portion of it will be spent in scrubs.
“My love of athletics is kind of like a baseline for things I might want to do in the future. With medicine, I’ve found a career that I love. That’s special because I’ve never wanted to do anything more than jump in sand.”
