Holly Bradshaw “I don’t know who I am. When I retire, who am I going to be?”

Holly Bradshaw is one of the finest women pole vaulters in the world. Holly is an Olympic bronze medalist, which is a rarefied status. Not many people win Olympic medals and even fewer win Olympic pole vault medals. 

This is the first of two parts from Stuart Weir, our senior writer in Oxford, England., on Holly Bradshaw. This is a very different piece from Holly, and we thank her for her honesty. 

Holly Bradshaw “I don’t know who I am. When I retire, who am I going to be?”

I wouldn’t say I know Holly Bradshaw well.  I have followed her career closely.  I have been in the stadium as she competed in three Olympics, five World Championships, etc.  I was in the stadium when she jumped 4.90 for a new GB record.  I have spoken to her on many occasions.  She is an engaging athlete, one who never gives bland answers.  She is a million miles from the “I am very happy that I won” all too common post-competition flash quote.  Following her studies in Psychology, she published an academic paper on “post-Olympic blues” – more on that later.

At the delayed Tokyo Olympics, she reached the pinnacle of her career with a bronze medal, a few weeks after that 4.90. She entered 2022 with a realistic chance of medals at The World and European Championships as well as the Commonwealth Games.  In Oregon, disaster struck when a pole snapped on a practice jump, effectively ending her season. In 2023, she was battling hamstring injuries – possibly caused by trying to compensate for the 2022 injury.  4:61 was the best her body could manage in 2023.

Then, in late 2023, she split from her long-term coach, Scott Simpson, and relocated to the North of England, where she grew up. She is now overseeing her own program.  Holly has not made any public comment about the change of coaching arrangements.

In an interview with AW, published in December 2023, she addressed the dichotomy that she felt between Holly, the person, and Holly, the elite athlete.  She asks pertinent questions: “The sport has shaped me. Throughout those years, you learn a lot about yourself. You learn who you are and what you want to be. I think because athletics has told me what I need to be to win a medal, that shaped me as a person. I was really ditzy, really all over the show. Just happy-go-lucky, and that’s not me now. I write everything down and every training session.  I…