British pole vault record-holder answers your questions and talks misconceptions, street meets and more!

Our new weekly Ask The Athlete series continues with Holly Bradshaw, as the British pole vault record-holder answers your questions on topics ranging from the event’s pioneers to her first PB.

Bradshaw’s career took off when she broke the British junior pole vault record in 2010. Since then, she’s become the senior record-holder, won a European indoor title, claimed gold at the Athletics World Cup and finished fifth at Rio 2016.

Have a read of some of Bradshaw’s answers below and then enjoy the full 27-minute episode for more.

How old were you when you started vaulting and what was your first PB? How does that compare now? 

“I started pole vaulting in 2008. That would have made me 16 (about to turn 17). It was kind of a coincidence, how I got into it. I’ve always been super sporty, I am sure that a lot of people have heard this story but I played football when I was four years old, then went into gymnastics, from six to 12. Then all the way through high school I tried to get into any sport that I could get my hands on.

“When I was in year 10 I did a school sports day and literally won everything, it was just kind of crazy. I did the 100m, high jump, shot put, javelin, that’s the person I was, just throwing myself into anything. Outside of school, I then went down to the athletics club and luckily my club Blackburn Harriers realised they didn’t have a single pole vaulter at the club so they got me into these taster classes.

“It was something that I’d never heard of before, dreamt of doing and I absolutely loved it. In the first six months I had qualified for European Juniors so it was a rollercoaster. My first PB was 2.10m and now it is 4.87m but I guess you have to start super low.”

What is the biggest misconception about the pole vault? 

“A lot of people see the pole vault and think ‘oh my god’ and ‘that’s super scary’ and of course, when I detach myself away from competing and watch, it can look super scary but it’s not dangerous. Pole vault is such a gradual process and with people who are impatient it can be really frustrating. When you first start it’s like there’s a river and if I gave you a stick and said, ‘you can’t get your feet wet’, you’d put the stick in the river and jump across. That’s pole vault in the first few weeks.

“The more confidence you get, the more you’ll grip and run faster and that’s how you get upside down. You might think it’s impossible and dangerous but it’s really not and when you get to a certain level it is really safe. You can be short or tall, it’s not a once size fits all sport.”

Do you think more events like the Manchester or Loughborough International are needed within the UK to help athletes make the step up to international competition? 

“I 100% agree with this. I went to Finland last year and they had a bronze, silver and gold Continental Tour meet as well as lots of other little meets like the Manchester and Loughborough International. My personal opinion is I love the Diamond Leagues and there’s definitely a place for one in the UK, but I would prefer to see a Diamond League, a couple of continental tour meets and then a few Manchester/Loughborough events rather than just two big Diamond League events.

“Finland is quite a small athletics country and if they can do it and have international competitors come in then I don’t see why the UK doesn’t draw more of the international market. Apart from the Diamond Leagues we don’t get many international athletes over so if we had four or five meets below that level it would just give opportunities for athletes in the UK to face competition abroad.”

Do you think competitions at non-stadium events will become more frequent? 

“I really hope so. In Germany it’s every week. I can go to five or six meets outdoors that are all pole vault street meets. They’ve cracked it and I know we haven’t got as stable weather as they do in Germany but we can do that in the UK. We have vault only meets in Cardiff, Loughborough and Brunel but we need more events like that with potentially more international athletes.

“France have a series indoors in indoor arenas. They usually have five or six competitions running throughout the day, starting at 9am and then finishing with the elite. One of the events is so popular this year they’re running it for four days straight and they’ve got enough kids that would want to do pole vault that they can do it for that long. I want more people to get into it and I believe Great Britain can be a powerhouse for the sport.”

Have you met any of the pioneers in women’s pole vault like Emma George, Stacy Dragila, and from the UK, Janine Whitlock, and do you have a favourite? 

“I haven’t actually. I would really like to meet Stacy Dragila, she’s a massive pioneer of the event and I know she’s doing some amazing things in America and Birmingham in getting kids into pole vault. For me, the pioneers were like Fabiana Murer and Anna Rogowska. When I came into the sport at an international level around 2011/12, they were the girls that topped the game.

“They were very much the women taking the game to the next level and they were really inspiring. I haven’t met any of the founding pioneers but I’d really like to meet them!”