Ask most athletes what their number one fear is and most will probably reply that an extended period out due injury is up there.
Injuries can prove to be some of the most testing times for competitors, and not everyone deals with them positively.
But 15-year-old Dubliner Amber Curran has shown that resilience and hard work in dealing with setbacks are often a pathway to success.
Curran is a competitive Irish dancer who dances with the Fagen Academy in Bray, Co. Wicklow.
She was first introduced to Irish dancing at the tender age of three years and has never looked back.
Amber quickly began to take part in local feiseanna, and aged eight she impressively took home third place in her very first Open Leinster Championship.
Struck down with a horror ankle injury at age nine, Amber was unable to dance for nearly a year as the recovery proved longer than hoped.
While this period out could have been been viewed as negative, Amber stuck with her rehab and came back stronger, she bagged many more prizes and qualified year after year in World Irish Dance Championships.
She then bounced back from a nightmare hip injury where she was sidelined for eight weeks to place an amazing twelfth at the All Ireland Championship earlier this year.
Such an achievement is remarkable given the circumstances surrounding the injury, with Amber showing incredible determination to overcome the odds and not only compete, but finish in such a high position in her category.
It is a testament to Amber's unique character that such a setback was countered by an immediate promising result.
Now starting her fourth year in Mount Antville secondary school, Amber is very much looking to the future, attending dance classes four to five times per week.
All eyes will be on the teen next year, when she will dance at the World Irish Championship 2020.
With the unique combination of natural talent and a strong character, the sky is the limit for this promising teen.
