London Paralympian excited about IPC Athletics World Champs

Holly Robinson competes for New Zealand at the forthcoming IPC World Championships in Lyon, France this week (July 22). Athletics New Zealand?s Steve Landells chats to the teenage javelin thrower about the enormity of competing at the London Paralympics and her hopes for the biggest competition of her year.

If there is one subject that javelin thrower Holly Robinson never tires of talking about, it is the London Paralympics. There, last year, the Hokitika teenager enjoyed the experience of a lifetime, placing seventh in the F46 classification and competing in front of 80,000 fans at the Olympics Stadium.

"It was really cool, I?ve never competed in front of so many people before," explains the 18-year-old excitedly. "It was a completely different experience. It was amazing. The biggest crowd I?d ever competed in before was a few thousand people at the QEII Stadium (in Christchurch). I was so nervous."

Yet after performing with distinction in the cauldron of the Olympic Stadium, she admits in the month following her maiden Paralympic experience "I took a big drop back down to earth."

In short, the 18-year-old, who started a Bachelor of Applied Science (physical activity in health and wellness) at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin earlier this year, needed to re-focus.

"It was not really a lack of motivation, but there was a lack of focus," explains Holly, who has a missing arm below the elbow, honestly. "I?d come back from London and thought it was just another New Zealand season and it is not that big compared to the London Paralympics."

Yet after a ?reflections session? with her long-time coach Raylene Bates towards the end of the summer season, she rediscovered her focus and her performances improved.

"It wasn?t a terrible season, but it wasn?t great," admits Holly. "I got on top of it, in the end."

One area the Taieri thrower has worked hard on in recent months has been improving her strength in the gym, but she has also benefited from more throws sessions with the help of the state-of-the-art Forsythe Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

Her regular training venue at the Caledonian ground was unavailable because of the wet conditions and switching the 30,000 capacity indoor stadium, where she threw on a concrete slab rather than the grass, was invaluable.

"Getting in some more throws has been beneficial to both Rory (McSweeney, her training partner and fellow IPC World Championships performer) and myself."

Hailing from Hokitika, Holly, played representative netball for the West Coast and was a useful basketball player as a youngster, but after starting athletics as a runner she "was drawn" to the throws, initially starting out in discus and shot before switching to the javelin.

Source: http://www.voxy.co.nz/sport/london-paralympian-excited-about-ipc-athletics-world-champs/5/161839

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