Derval O'Rourke: What ‘failing’ to qualify for my first Olympic Games taught me

Failure is a part of everyone’s lives, whether you are trying to qualify for an Olympic Games or hoping to run your first 5km race

Derval O'Rourke: Years ago I went to a psychologist to deal with the pressure I was feeling of competing at a high level. Picture: Dan Linehan

I was recently scrolling through Instagram and a video came up of someone talking about failure. 

The video caught my attention because it was an athlete explaining that they had ‘failed’ to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. The athlete was Irish weightlifter Thammy Nguyen. She is an incredible athlete and someone I was hoping to see compete in Paris.