BRADSHAW Holly

General
CHANGE OF APPROACH
She says that after several years of injuries and a sixth place finish at the 2017 World Championships in London, England, she made a decision to change her mental approach to competition. "I went on a journey, with the injuries, where I was really resenting the sport. I had gone down a track of doing things for the wrong reason and I had to reflect on why I am doing it. At the European Indoors this year [2021 in Torun, Poland] I was disappointed to finish third. But five or six years ago I would have been so upset, crying on TV and beating myself up for not winning. Now, after the mental things I have changed, I can go out and enjoy the competitiveness, rather than only to win. If I hadn't changed my psychology back in 2017 I don't even know whether I would be in the sport now because it was killing me. The pressure to perform and prove to people I was good was just unhealthy." (bbc.co.uk, 05 May 2021)

BODY IMAGE
She says she has struggled with criticism of her body during her career. "I feel like I've never fitted the image of a pole vaulter. When I was young I had a little bit of puppy fat. Everyone is slightly different, but even as a youngster I was always pitched as a bit different. At one point if you typed my name into Google, the word 'fat' came up after it. Can you imagine? I look back and think it's sad that's what people focus on. I'd just finished sixth at my home Olympics [2012 Games in London] and people were saying, 'Well, maybe if she lost a bit of weight she'd have finished higher'. It's crazy. It's always been a bit of an issue I've had to battle. I'd just like to show younger athletes it doesn't matter what you look like, it's how you perform." (telegraph.co.uk, 15 Jun 2019)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
Speaking in April 2020, she said the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo may be her final Olympic appearance but that she had not ruled out continuing until the 2024 Games in Paris. "I was probably always going to go on until 2022, so the Olympics being postponed does not really affect me, only in that this year [2020] is going to be a bit of a down year for me. With all of the injuries that I have had, the last couple of years have definitely seen me produce some of my best form. I don't think I am going to lose the benefits of that training, and in a way this year now gives my body a bit of downtime and then I can go until 2022. And who knows, maybe I could go on until 2024? It's all up in the air at the minute. All I know is that 2021 is now going to be a really big year for me. My aim now is to keep ticking over and come out all guns blazing for 2021." (lep.co.uk, 04 Apr 2020)

GRANDFATHER TRIBUTE
Her grandfather passed away the night before the 2020 British Championships in Manchester, England, where she won gold. "He was one of my biggest fans and he's been at every single British champs since I started the sport so I really felt like it was appropriate to come and try my best and I struggled a little bit in warm-up and felt a little bit flat. I'm glad I came and got the British champion - he would be really really happy." (runnersworld.com, 07 Sep 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She began studying for a master's degree in sports psychology at Loughborough University in England in 2019, expecting to graduate in 2021. "I have always studied and trained as I know the importance of preparing myself for life outside of sport." (Instagram profile, 07 Jun 2020; lancashirelife.co.uk, 15 May 2020; youthsporttrust.org, 01 Jan 2020; LinkedIn profile, 01 Nov 2019)