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TRI247 Interview
( TRI247 ARTICLE )
It’s not often you meet a seventeen year old who has the maturity of a twenty seven year-old and one thing is for sure, you don't very often come across a seventeen year old-who hasn't completed an Olympic distance triathlon race and who, interestingly, has an outside chance of making the 2008 Beijing Olympic triathlon team. Annie Emmerson caught up with the up-and-coming superstar, Hollie Avil (on her mobile from school) to chat about her amazing year, the Olympics and being short listed for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award.
Question : What an incredible year (Hollie won the World and European junior triathlon Championships, was nominated BOA and BTF elite triathlete of the year and was short listed for the BBC Young Sports personality of the Year Award) how does that make you feel to have come so far so quickly?
Answer : It's taken a lot of hard work, determination and self-belief to gain some great results this year, but I've loved every minute of it and I am extremely happy (and slightly overwhelmed) at what I've achieved.
Question : Even at such a young age you've come into the sport with a lot of experience in running and swimming, tell us a little bit about your sporting background?
Answer : I first made the British National Championships in 2003 for 200m breaststroke and 100m freestyle, but from then on I moved more towards the distance races making nationals at 400m individual medley, 800m and 1500m free. I won the Midlands women's 1500m a couple of times and my county records were only just beaten last week. I first did cross country in year six at school and won my first ever race. From then on I regularly competed for my secondary school in cross country and at 800m and 1500m on the track. My best running results have come this year! My running has most certainly improved since I've started triathlon. I won the under-seventeen Midland women's cross-country, finished seventh in the UK inter-counties under-seventeen women's race and did a new 3000m personal best on the track (9:33) at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix in August. I also found out that I'm ranked 27th in Europe for the junior women's 3000m which is pretty cool.
Question : You did your first triathlon in Roade, Northampton, in September 2005. How did it go and did you know straight away that you wanted to do more?
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Answer : I was so nervous, but as soon as I started the race I loved every minute of it. I came away from that race knowing that triathlon was now the sport I definitely wanted to go far in.
Question : Amazingly you're still at school (Hollie is studying A levels in PE, philosophy/ethics and English) how do you manage to divide your time?
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Answer : Well I train around twenty hours a week and most of my training is done before and after school; it can get tiring but I know it's worth it!
Question : After such a successful year the question on everyone's lips is, will you try and qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008?
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Answer : It won't be our main goal (Hollie is coached by World Class coach, Ben Bright) but I will try to qualify. Whatever the result it will be a good experience for whatever I do in the future.
Question : What do you think your chances are of making the team?
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Answer : I'd say at this stage it's a little unpredictable; if the other girls are fit and injury free it will be very hard. There are so many to consider, obviously Andrea and Michelle are always tough to beat and Jodie and Liz have started to race well recently, but there are many others too: Helen, Vanessa, Julie. When everyone is fit there are a lot of good British girls out there.
Question : At the moment you don't have a world ranking, what plan do you have to work on this?
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Answer : I will be taking part in the early season World Cups in 2008, unfortunately I couldn't this year as the ITU rule says that you must be eighteen in the year that you want to start participating in World Cup races. I'll be eighteen in April which means I'll be able to take part in World Cups as of January 2008.
Question : So far you've only enter one standard distance race, how did you get on and how different is it for you to that of sprint distance racing.
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Answer : I raced at London this year, but unfortunately the race came just two days after my 3000m race at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix event. I hadn't fully recovered and was having problems with my calves on the run so my coach and I decided it was best to call it a day after 5km. To be honest though, the swim and bike were fine and I didn't find moving up a distance tough at all.
Question : Finally, you were nominated as Young Sports Personality of the Year, what an amazing achievement?
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Answer : It was very exciting and something I felt very proud to be part of. Unfortunately I wasn't short listed for the last three, but I'm really happy for triathlon as it meant that it got some really good coverage, which is obviously important for the growth of the sport.
Hollie has also won the Northamptonshire Young Female Sports Achiever Award and the Northampton Local Sportswoman of the Year Award and despite missing out on national short list she won the BBC East Midlands Junior Sportsperson of the Year. In the Sunday Times Young Sportswoman of the Year awards she was named as runner-up behind cycling’s Shanaze Reade.
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