running for aus...again!
Sarah Meads
Senior School Leader
Isis Holt (Year 10) is bound for London during the term break. The city will be hosting the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships and the World IAAC Athletics Championships, London's biggest sporting event since the 2012 Olympics.
The three weeks in London will be action packed for Isis and her teammates. The first week will be spent recovering from travel, acclimatising and (of course!) training. The second week sees the beginning of competition on 7 July. Due to her good form, Isis has already been promoted from competing in heats and finals at London to straight finals. This means that she has automatically qualified for the finals races and will have to perform her best over a fewer number of races than many of her competitors.
As previously reported in the Brunswick Star, Isis is a sprinter and ran for Australia at the Rio Paralympics. The IPC (International Paralympic Commission) World Championships is another excellent opportunity to face international competition. Although a little more 'low-key' than the Paralympics, Isis expects to see many athletes that she was up against in Rio and is looking forward to the chance to race them again.
Apart from a short break following Rio de Janeiro, Isis has been in training for London. Tracwork combined with a gym program has been repetitive work but Isis has seen the steady improvement in her technique and endurance over time. Training six days a week, including track work, pilates, physiotherapy, gym program and swimming means that Isis has had to keep a healthy focus on her long term goal of qualifying for the Tokyo Paralympics.
"Sometimes it is really hard and I think that I just can't do it anymore, but I know that the work will pay off. Getting to the Paralympics in Rio was such a buzz, so when I need to motivate myself I remind myself of that."
"After London, I will work toward the Commonwealth Games next year and from then, I have a two year training period until the Tokyo Paralympics. This is good timing, as I will be able to complete my VCE first and then put full focus on Tokyo.
'The most challenging thing at the moment is finding the balance between training, school and social life. When I am at training, I love it, but I do have to give up a lot in order to have the time for it. I also have to be careful to avoid injury - I even have to think twice about walking to school in case I aggravate some small injury: it can be really frustrating! Sometimes my friends are out doing fun stuff and I have to pass - because of training or needing to spend time on homework - all because of a couple of upcoming races that will be over in just a few minutes! Sometimes i think I'd LOVE to be a normal teenager - and then I see interviews from Rio or Doha and know that I wouldn't wan tot be doing anything else! At the end of the day i am getting once in a lifetime opportunities that others would want, and it is a lot of fun!"
Isis continues to be recognised for her dedication to her sport having been named Para Athlete of the year (for the second year running) and also earning the Eden Hogan Trophy at her club (Old Xaverians Athletics Club). Isis enjoys that she is part of an inclusive sport and that more and more para athletes are recognised alongside able bodied athletes, so accepting these awards at events that included all athletes has been especially important to her.
The BSC community is invited to follow our favourite para athlete throughout the upcoming London competition at https://m.paralympic.org/news/london-2017-be-livestreamed. No doubt, we will all be cheering loudly back in Australia - she may well even hear us! We can also check Isis' progress via the Go Isis Holt Facebook page.
Best of luck Isis - enjoy racing
after your dream!
