Para-athlete Holly Robinson has her sights set firmly on gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games
Despite a handful of medals from international competitions, golds have been hard to come by for Kiwi para javelin thrower Holly Robinson.
Now, with the ANZ Paralympic Pathway Programme helping her every step of the way, Robinson is as determined as ever to secure the elusive prize.
That passion is driven by five silvers and a bronze in the F46 class in her career, spread across the Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games and IPC Athletics World Championships.
"I have settled for silver and bronzes' all my career, so I really want that gold. That's at the top of my list of achievements that I want to get, and heading into Tokyo I'm gunning for that gold," says Robinson.
Robinson's first major achievement came at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championship, where she won silver in the Javelin F46. She followed that up with a bronze and silver at the two following world champs in 2015 and 2017. The most recent of her slew of medals was a silver at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai last month.
Robinson's chances of achieving her dreams of gold have been aided by the ANZ Paralympic Pathway Programme, which aims to support para athletes both in and out of competition, including financial support and mental development.
Javelin is currently a full-time job for the 25-year-old, one that requires training twice a day with the Tokyo Games just over eight months away. With a busy year ahead for Robinson, who knows the pressures leading up to a Paralympics, such assistance provides a major boost.
"I don't have to worry about getting to those comps that I need to, because I've got that support there.
"I am in a sport where we don't get a lot of money so the sponsorship and financial help is a huge thing for us."
Holly Robinson took silver at the Commonwealth Games, and is gunning for one better in Tokyo. Photo / Photosport
Robinson has also been named an ambassador of the programme; which parallels with her appreciation for the company's work already in and around sport.
"The things [ANZ] do outside of sport in the development level is really cool and important to me. I work in schools and so development in our younger age grade and also into elite athletes is really important."
Robinson says the added support is also a win for Paralympic sport, which is growing and continuing to garner global attention, something that was non-existent when she first burst onto the scene at 16.
She says there was always a common perception that if you had an impairment you were afraid to participate in sport, but believes that is no longer the case.
"I think para sport has the ability to show others anything is possible."
