Paralympic Diary

At 14 Hollie is one of Britain’s youngest Paralympians and is ranked third in the world in her category.

Hollie’s hopes of going to Beijing were almost hampered when she failed to meet the UK Athletics standard of 32.30 by 5 cm. However, she met the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) qualifying standard six times and was thrilled to be representing the Great Britain team.

“Oh my god, it’s just amazing that I got picked so I’m really excited.” said Hollie.

“People are expecting me to get gold, which I’d absolutely love to get but it’s because of my classification. I’m competing with athletes in 42 and 44 classifications and I’m a 46. So if I threw 40 metres and a 42 classification threw 20, they’d come higher up in winning a gold medal because they’re more disabled than me, so that’s how it works.”

The chance of reaching the podium may be slim but this isn’t stopping Hollie’s ambition to smash the world record of 38 meters; she currently throws 32.

“If I could get the world record, and be the world record holder, that would be brilliant.”