Robinson eyeing gold at world champs

Holly Robinson at the Caledonian Ground yesterday as she looks ahead to the IPC world...
Holly Robinson at the Caledonian Ground yesterday as she looks ahead to the IPC world championships in London. Photo: Gregor Richardson.
Holly Robinson arrived back in Dunedin with a gold medal this week.

Now the 22-year-old para javelin thrower is hoping to do the same thing in July when the world championships roll around.

While the team for the championships had not yet been named, Robinson would have to be unlucky to not be on the plane to London.

Once there, she would have to figure among the contenders as well.

The Taieri athlete, who was born without a lower left arm, has finished the season in good form.

She threw 41.85m to win the women’s para-javelin at the Australian championships.

The win was a close one, as they competed across para-categories — the winner was whoever was closest to their category’s world record.

That came on the back of a win at New Zealand championships, as well as a fifth in the open able-bodied competition.

Alongside that, she threw 42.68m to extend her national record at the Otago Championships in February.

Having thrown 41.22m to win silver at the Rio Paralympics seven months ago, she was continuing to get better and consistently throwing those longer distances.

That bodes well three months out from her next major landmark.

"Coming from a silver medal in Rio, I’d only hope to keep that and, hopefully, go one more," Robinson said.

"But any athlete will tell you, and I’m a person that’s like this, I just want to go out and throw my best.

"So really I’m just looking to throw the best that I can throw and PB on the day, so that should be enough to win a medal.

"You never know what might happen on the day. Anyone can take out those medals, but I think if I throw well it’s definitely in the medals for sure."

Having returned to Dunedin on Wednesday, she is taking a week off training, before getting back into it for another month and a-half.

If chosen for the team she would likely head away for a pre-camp with the team and do a few competitions in Australia.

She was looking forward to the preparations and enjoyed travelling with the group.

"A lot of the para-athletes will travel together within the athletics team.

"There will be a few of us, it just depends where people want to slot in.

"But for our pre-camp, we usually go together which is really cool because we’re all really close and it’s awesome to go way with all those guys.

"A lot of us are based in Dunedin.

"The likes of Anna Grimaldi, Jess Hamill, Caitlin Dore, those guys are all based here, so it’s pretty cool.

"We’re pretty close and it’s quite fun going away in a team with them."

Life had changed since the Rio Olympics and she said it had been great seeing the increasing profile of para-sport. However she was not done.

Both world championships and Commonwealth Games were the more immediate goals, but the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics remained on the horizon.

"I haven’t quite got that top spot yet and that’s the thing I would really love to get.

"That’s my overall goal in my sport is to be that person at the top of the podium. 

"[It is] quite exciting and also nerve-racking, because it’s another four year cycle, another long time before then, but I’m looking forward to Tokyo."

Add a Comment