WRITTEN FOR TEAM 2012 VISA (March 21st)
She debuted on the senior stage and leapt to the national number one spot all in one winter. Now pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale has her sights on the world age-best record later this summer.
Despite only recently completing her third season, the 19-year-old Blackburn Harrier enjoyed an indoor campaign of jumping from strength to strength, shattering her best marks and shooting up the national record lists with a best height of 4.50 metres.
In addition to this remarkable breakthrough on the senior stage, Bleasdale captured the UK crown and was selected to join Team GB at the European indoor Championships in Paris earlier this month, where she finished a credible 11th in qualifying with a 4.45m mark.
A season to remember for the national junior record-holder, whose glorious start to the year included a 44cm improvement on her previous lifetime best.
She debuted on the senior stage and leapt to the national number one spot all in one winter. Now pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale has her sights on the world age-best record later this summer.
Despite only recently completing her third season, the 19-year-old Blackburn Harrier enjoyed an indoor campaign of jumping from strength to strength, shattering her best marks and shooting up the national record lists with a best height of 4.50 metres.
In addition to this remarkable breakthrough on the senior stage, Bleasdale captured the UK crown and was selected to join Team GB at the European indoor Championships in Paris earlier this month, where she finished a credible 11th in qualifying with a 4.45m mark.
A season to remember for the national junior record-holder, whose glorious start to the year included a 44cm improvement on her previous lifetime best.
“I have really enjoyed this Indoor season - winning the senior trials and getting selected for the Europeans have definitely been major highlights of my pole-vaulting career,” reveals the world junior bronze-medallist.
“I am now looking forward to training hard and hopefully improving my vaulting for the outdoors just as much as I have done in the indoors.
“I have still got lots to improve on and I just need the time to enable me to do this.”
As she has proven before, though, a block of time is not always necessary in order to witness a sharp improvement.
Having only started to train seriously for the event in the autumn of 2008, Bleasdale progressed from 2.80m to an impressive 4.05m leap, which saw her break the national junior record on numerous occasions in her debut season.
A Team GB call-up for the 2009 European junior championships subsequently arrived but an ill-timed broken foot bone put paid to her international aspirations, as she required surgery and six-months out from training.
Fast-forward 12 months and Bleasdale is riding on the crest of a wave following an unprecedented comeback in the sport. After claiming global bronze (with 4.15m) in Canada last summer, she is currently poised to claim the British senior number-one mantel in thrilling fashion this summer.
Now second on the national all-time indoor lists behind Kate Dennison’s 4.60m leap, Bleasdale aims to eclipse her rival’s 4.60m outdoor mark to capture the British record this season and cement her status as the country’s finest.
Coached by Julien Raffalli-Ebezant at SportCity in Manchester, she has the ‘A’ qualifying mark for August’s World Championships (in Deagu, South Korea) and is only a mere 6cm away from breaking two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva’s world age-19 best.
“I feel happy that my season went so well - it makes all the training and hard work I put in throughout the season feel worthwhile when I achieve personal bests and medals at major championships,” says Bleasdale.
“I knew during my winter training that I was feeling fit and strong, so to see the results in competitions is great.
“I stayed focused and positive during my injury and I worked on other weakness in my body such as core strength and upper body strength.
“To be honest, if I could go back I wouldn’t change my injury - it did me good, as it changed the way I thought about athletics and has really helped me.”
After adding two strength-and-conditioning sessions, a gym workout and a gymnastics session to her weekly routine, Bleasdale is in top condition.
Currently on a gap year before beginning her university studies, the former heptathlete has transformed over the winter months into an exciting international contender on the senior scene.
“I knew during my winter training that I was feeling fit and strong, so to see the results in competitions is great.
In 2010, the Lancashire athlete’s best outdoor mark was 4.35m when taking the UK silver medal with a British junior record but she will be expected to jump around 20-30cm higher to make an impact in Daegu.
“My main aims for 2011 are to medal at the European under-23 championships [in Ostrava in July] and to jump a height of 4.56m for the world age-19 record,” Bleasdale reveals.
“I feel this is within my capabilities and it would be an amazing achievement.
“My long-term goals are to compete in all the major championships and the ultimate aim in my career is to get close to five metres and win the Olympics.
“I have a long way to go before I reach this, but I feel aiming high is the key to ensure motivation.”
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